


Love and Loss

by innocuousdemons



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Empath, F/F, Female Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Loss, Physical Disability
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 07:33:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5366669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/innocuousdemons/pseuds/innocuousdemons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roxie is a young and unrefined woman with an ability to sense other people's feelings. She braves the mystery of the woods in search of the perfect picture of a monster that of an urban legend. What she finds, turns out to be much more than she bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The dark beyond

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I hope you'll enjoy Roxie's story! This is especially dedicated to all of you Pearl fans out there. 
> 
> I'm still an improving writer and English isn't my native language. I hope you'll take this into attention in any possible constructive criticism.  
> Comments are encouraged! Here is [my Tumblr blog](http://www.innocuous-demons.tumblr.com/) and here is a [A fanmix](http://8tracks.com/lunacy_core/love-songs-for-a-gem) inspired by the story.

A bag slumped on the table as it was being stuffed with items. Long fingers straightened the bag hastily so it wouldn’t fall off the table. Roxie, A girl with long blond hair huffed thoughtfully with a toothpick in the corner of her mouth as she stared into a illuminating phone screen in the darkened room.  
“All right, I think I got everything,” She mumbled to herself as she flipped open a map application. She typed in a location and zoomed in to a forested area with her fingers. Then she tapped the screen to set up a destination spot.  
“Okay,” The girl said in a nervous manner as she switched the application to a web page of a forum post. Her eyes reread the lines as her mouth chewed the toothpick with a serious look on her face. 

People were talking about a recent discovery in the woods. They talked about a monster or supernaturally large animal being sighted. No one had dared to approach this creature and there was just a single picture of a blurry shadowy figure with a reflection on it’s head, most possibly their eyes reflecting the flash, Roxie speculated. She glanced the camera inside her bag and smiled with determination. She was going to get a better picture. She would be featured in the local newspaper and get paid well. It was a perfect opportunity. Turning the screen off, she shut the bag and walked to the hallway. Roxie picked up her winter jacket and scarf and headed out.

Winter was harsh this time of year. Darkness seemed to eat every light source in the city. Roxie was already far away from the soft glow of the city. She had her camera around her neck and a flashlight headband around her head. Springly, she jumped over fallen trees, branches and stones into the ever darker forest. She wasn’t exactly looking at the time, but it definitely seemed like she’d been walking at least over an half an hour before her steps came to a halt. She heard a loud crack from closeby. Shivering coldness suddenly invaded her bones as she turned around and targeted the direction with the light beam. 

Roxie could hear dragging breathing. It sounded raspy and made her wonder whether the source of the breath was having breathing trouble. Then suddenly, a large shadowy humanoid moved in her field of vision. Her panicked steps faltered backwards and her breath hitched. She fumbled with her hands to catch a picture. It was too close. Couldn’t have been a good shot. It grumbled aggressively. Roxie whimpered but before she could turn around and flee, a major blow hit her head and made her crash into the snow. Roxie saw a flash of light somewhere further away. Roaring echoed in her ears as claws dug into her skin. A pained scream escaped her mouth and she could see her flash light reveal a nearly human looking creature with somewhat mutated features. It wasn’t the eyes that were glowing, it was a gem on it’s forehead. Broken and bruised. She tried to desperately struggle away from the monster’s hold, staring at the direction that the light had come from, but she was hit again and again. Blood painted the snow. Before she was losing her consciousness there was a shout somewhere behind her back. Hope lingered, maybe she wasn’t going to die here.  
“There it is!” The high voice announced. 

From then on out, it felt like a fever dream to Roxie. Three warrior queens and a kid were fighting the creature, their whip cracking, their fists punching and their spear cutting the monster down. This couldn’t be real. The pain and the cold took over and as hard as she was fighting to try to stay conscious, her eyes were closing and her mind was numbing, but not before the kid was closing up to her, yelling the others that someone was there. Her last thought, before she blacked out, ironically, was that hopefully her camera didn’t break.


	2. The temple by the beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still an improving writer and English isn't my native language. I hope you'll take this into attention in any possible constructive criticism.  
> Comments are encouraged! Here is [my Tumblr blog](http://www.innocuous-demons.tumblr.com/) and here is a A fanmix inspired by the story.

Softness and warmth lulled Roxie, awakening her back to the reality. Her eyes squint open and she could see the room swimming in light. There was something comforting about laying in the softness of the bed not knowing whatever was going on beyond this room. Or in this room, even. Everything seemed like a blur as she looked up to a familiar figure by the bed. In the post-unconscious haze Roxie stared up at her, admiring those large blue eyes and soft and fluffy peach hair. The face she had was of gentleness and thought but behind it laid pain. There was… something. Roxie couldn’t place it. 

“Oh, you have awoken,” The pale lady said calmly, raising her hands from Roxie’s wounds. Her voice was dreamy, Roxie thought.  
“Wow,” she exhaled in astonishment.  
“How are you feeling?” She asked. She tapped her hands together after wiping them with disinfectant.  
“Beautiful,” Roxie managed to utter, her voice sounded rough and drunk compared to that of the other woman’s. Speaking of which, she was now staring at her with amused confusion on her face. Roxie felt a pang of embarrassment after realizing what she had just said and hurried to correct herself:  
“I- I- I mean I’m great! Ouch.” She closed her eye as she glanced to her side, seeing the deep wounds on her arm.  
“Not so great, I would imagine. The disinfectant must have woken you up. I was just about to bandage your arm. Oh, I am Pearl, by the way,” Pearl introduced herself as she unrolled a piece of medical cloth, cutting a piece of it with scissors. Roxie didn’t remember feeling any stings of pain as she woke up, but she settled with it by nodding and staring as Pearl held her arm up and rolled bandages over her wounds gracefully. 

Roxie felt overcome with nervousness for being cared in such a way. She licked her dry lips trying hard to think of something to say, but couldn’t come up with anything that would have sounded even slightly rational. Pearl was finishing the bandage on her arm.  
“There we go,” she said, satisfied with the result.  
“Thanks,” Roxie muttered. She looked at the fair lady, seeming puzzled. She noticed this and tilted her head questioningly.  
“Is something the matter?” Pearl asked. Roxie watched the gem on the other woman’s forehead. It glistened beautifully in the sun rays but she felt discomfort bubble in her stomach as she remembered the monster having a gem on the same place.  
“The monster in the woods. It had the same accessory on it’s forehead. What is it?” 

She saw her turning her head away from her. She seemed hesitant, tugging the sash of her outfit.  
“Well…” Pearl started. Her eyes wandered and she bit her lip. She was plainly struggling to answer but Roxie could tell just by looking at her that she knew more than she let on.  
“I understand if you’d rather not tell,” Roxie pitched in. A cough escaped her before she could continue:  
“But seeing as it just almost killed me, I’d like to know what it was all about.” A chuckle escaped Pearl after her words. Roxie was startled by her reaction and felt her cheeks flush. Her laughter was utterly captivating.  
“Quite a reasonable request, when framed that way,” she laughed, “All right, I’ll explain everything to you but you must keep it to yourself. Do you understand?” Roxie gave her a tight lipped nod. She felt the heat on her cheeks still glowing. 

“The creature you encountered was a corrupted gem. Indeed, the gem itself was cracked. It’s form was a projection of a broken gem; it was twisted and insane. We, on the other hand, are functional gems. Our mission here is to protect the humanity and so we did, yesterday. You’re welcome!” Pearl smiled proudly. Her smile brought butterflies in Roxie’s stomach. She gasped as she remembered that she hadn’t thanked her. Looking quickly back to Pearl, she reached for her hand and squeezed it. Pearl looked slightly perplexed as Roxie bowed her head quickly.  
“I’m sorry! You saved my life. I would have died if it weren’t for you and your friends. I’ll be forever indebted to you,” she said earnestly.  
“Oh, it’s no trouble,” Pearl insisted.  
“But you…” Roxie paused. Her gaze dropped to their hands and she quickly let go, feeling her bashfulness glowing on her cheeks. She timidly fidgeted with her hands as she asked:  
“So, gems are alive, then?” Pearl shook her head.  
“The gems on Earth are inanimate. Our kind are from another galaxy.”  
“Aliens! I knew it!” Roxie cheered. “Oh man! That’s unbelievable!” She pulled herself up to a sitting position on the bed and noticed Pearl rising her hands trying to calm her down:  
“Don’t push yourself, now.” She gave Roxie a crooked smile.  
“That’s not how people usually react to us,” Pearl said and shook her head. She then stood up and dusted off her trousers.  
“You should rest, miss… What was your name, again?”  
“It’s Roxie.”  
“Ah, yes, Roxie. I need to go check on Steven and the others. Let us know if you need anything.” 

“Who is Steven?” Roxie muttered to herself, hesitating at the last word, as she watched Pearl walk out of the tidy room. Slowly, she turned to let her legs hang from the side of the bed. She let out a grunt as she moved. Pain radiated from the left side of her torso. Still, she managed to push herself out the bed. Roxie wobbled to the door and stood in front of it as she had seen Pearl do. Nothing happened. Perhaps it was activated by movement? Frowning, she tried to wave her hands at it. Nothing. She tried to walk towards it, but it didn’t budge.  
“Oh, for the love of…” Cursing, Roxie tried to look for a switch. She slid her hands across the door. Her fingers tried to push the gems in the middle, but settled for the fact that they must have been just for decorative purposes. Finally, she cupped her hand to try to speak through the door.  
“Hello? Can someone open this? I seem to be stuck inside.” She then tried to knock on the door a few times, until she heard running footsteps from the other side. Soon enough, the door slid into the wall and revealed a young boy on the other side. His hair was an uncontrollable mess of dark curls and he had the widest grin on his face. 

“Pearl! I can’t believe you locked our guest into your room!” He yelled behind him.  
“I did not!” Could be heard from somewhere further away. He laughed, turning back to Roxie.  
“Hey! Don’t worry about it, you are free now! I’m Steven! This is our house.”  
“I’m Roxie. Thanks for freeing me, kid,” Roxie smiled before a frown appeared on her eyebrows as she looked around, “Your house is kinda weird. Who has automatic sliding doors at their home these days, huh?”  
“That’s magic. This whole room was made by Pearl, just for you! It’s magic, too.”  
“Wh- They what now,” She mumbled in confusion as she stepped out of the room. The house was spacey and cozy, made out of light wood. Roxie examined the modern shapes as she walked towards what seemed like round platform made out of blue shaded stone.  
“Maybe you shouldn’t touch that,” Steven suggested and tugged the hem of Roxie’s oversized shirt.  
“Sorry,” Roxie said, turning away from the platform, still gazing at it curiously. 

She wandered towards the living room area and noticed two women she had seen, before she had blacked out in the woods, sitting on the sofa. Taller one of them with a near-square shaped afro rose her hand in a relaxed greeting. Roxie greeted her back timidly before she turned to the kitchen where Pearl was making pancakes by the stove.  
“Honestly, those look like the most perfect pancakes I’ve seen anyone make,” She sighed as she leaned on the counter. She watched as Pearl placed a pancake on a pile of perfectly round shaped golden brown pancakes.  
“Hear that, Amethyst? Steven isn’t the only one who appreciates the fine art of cooking.”  
The girl Pearl had called Amethyst blew a raspberry at her, waving her hand carelessly.  
“Whatever!” She exclaimed.  
“Are you hungry, Roxie? You’re welcome to join us for breakfast,” Pearl smiled as she turned her head to glance over her shoulder towards Roxie.  
“I would like that,” she said, sitting on one of the barstools, “But I need to go home soon, I have my dog waiting for me. He must be worried.”  
“I see. Best not to waste time, then,” Pearl said and she took out a plate, putting two pancakes on it and offering it to Roxie. 

After she had eaten, they decided together that Pearl would accompany her to make sure no other corrupt gem would attack her in the forest. Garnet and Amethyst stayed at home busying themselves with chores. Steven had begged Pearl to take him with - and she couldn’t barely refuse - so it was, the three of them going back to the forest they had been the night before. Roxie stepped on the platform after Steven and Pearl and soon they were swimming in a beam of light. She felt herself float and she gasped taking a grip of the closest thing to her, the sash of Pearl’s outfit.  
“I’m falling!” Roxie whimpered with her eyes squeezed closed, hearing a chuckle from Pearl’s direction.  
“Calm down. We’re already there.” Her words convinced her to open her eyes and she realized they were standing on a platform in the middle of the woods. The platform was covered with leaves and branches. Stepping over them, she jumped down from the platform and took a few steps forward before she heard Steven’s voice behind her:  
“Do you remember a way home from here?”  
“I - Uh,” Roxie said, still awestruck from the fact that they had just teleported. She glanced around before she pointed towards west.  
“I think it’s that way.”  
“Good! Onwards! No dog left behind!” Steven called out and walked in front of them ceremoniously swinging his arms. The smile that spread on Roxie’s face felt like the most touched and genuine of smiles she had had for months. Her eyes glistened with excitement as she looked at Pearl, who was hurrying after Steven, at her side and she smiled back, so proud of her baby. Roxie heaved her backpack on her shoulders as she walked. When Steven was a ways before them Roxie glanced the short haired lady again before she spoke:  
“He seems like a human to me.”  
“He is. His… mother was a gem like me. His father is a human.”  
“That’s possible?”  
“Only at a great cost.”

There it was again, the pain in Pearl’s being showing through. It was painfully obvious to Roxie and she had to look away because she could start feeling what she was feeling. It felt annoying to be that way, always feeling what others were. It was like being a mirror, not even knowing why. She hesitated. She knew what was going to come, but she said it anyway:  
“You must have really cared for her.”  
Her pearly eyes widened as she looked at Roxie. She quickly looked away, nodded silently and tightened her pace.  
“It must have been a while ago. Steven is like, what? Twelve?” Roxie said and as she expected, she got no answer.  
“You know, I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. It makes a dent in you and you can never forget it. You cling to every shred of good memory you have because if you forget, it would mean they are truly gone. But you can’t keep beating yourself up forever. It’s no way to live.” When Roxie spoke, she spoke in an even voice. There was not much feel to it. She sounded hardened. She sounded like she had said the same words thousand times to herself, in her head.  
“How do you do that?” Pearl’s voice cracked, but she kept going and didn’t look at her. She seemed slightly disturbed, but Roxie got a feeling she had seen weirder things in her life.  
“I’ve been sensitive to reading people’s emotions since I was little,” Roxie explained, “And personal experience.”  
“Who did you lose?”  
“My brother.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“It was long ago, too.”  
“You don’t seem that old,” Pearl said with puzzlement. It made Roxie laugh. Her laughter was throaty and raspy. 

Soon enough they approached the town. It was small with paved streets. Roxie jogged to a stairway that would take her to her apartment.  
“So you still want to see my dog, Steven?” She asked the boy excitedly.  
“Yeah!” Steven said and hit air with his fist, “Dog time!” They raced up the stairs with Pearl following in their footsteps with no hurry. The keys clicked together as Roxie unlocked the door. It gave a hollow snap as it opened. Barking could be heard approaching the door and soon enough medium height brown dog jumped out the door and jumped against Roxie, whining happily that she was back home.  
“Hopper! Hey, buddy! Did you miss me?” Roxie sweet talked to her dog, hugging him tightly.  
“Hey, look, here’s Steven and Pearl!”  
Hopper licked her face before he turned to smell Steven’s trousers. He let out a curious huff and whipped his tail as Steven gave him scratches behind his ear.  
“I think he likes you, Steven. Hey, you want to take him for a walk for me?”  
“Sure I can!”  
“Cool. We’ll wait for you here. I’ll leave the door unlocked for you.” Roxie connected the leash to Hopper’s collar and gave it to Steven.  
“See you in a bit!” He exclaimed as he ran down the stairs past Pearl with Hopper barking excitedly in front of him. 

Letting out a sigh with a smile Roxie held the door open for Pearl. She walked inside delicately thanking her. Roxie shut the door behind her hand slipped past Pearl in the cramped hallway guiding her to the living room.  
“How is your arm feeling?” Pearl asked politely as she sat down on the sofa. Roxie glanced at her arm and moved it a little, then shrugged.  
“I’m surprised how quickly it healed. Maybe you being aliens had something to do with that, huh?” A playful smile appeared on her lips.  
“That certainly might have had something to do with it,” Pearl chuckled and shook her head, playing along with Roxie. She leaned back on the sofa, letting out a relaxed sigh. Roxie suddenly felt her nervousness rise again and she coughed into her fist before she sat down and started to rummage through her backpack.  
“So, would you like a drink? You must be thirsty after all that walking,” She tried to fill the silence as she pulled out her camera.  
“I don’t need to drink or eat,” Pearl said simply.  
“What? Like, ever?”  
“That’s right.”  
“But how do you sustain yourself?”  
“We’re gems. We don’t need to.”  
Roxie hummed in confusion and squinted, peeking at the camera’s screen as it turned into life.  
“You guys sound like some kind of supreme race compared to humans.”  
“Quite so,” Pearl smiled and suddenly, Roxie felt slightly intimidated by her coldly calm demeanor.  
“So why would you want to protect earth if we’re so inferior?”  
“Well, you see, Steven’s mother... Rose Quartz, saw the wonder and potential in Earth. The homeworld gems wanted to use the Earth to make more gems, but we fought back. We wanted to preserve it.”  
“You’ve lived through war?”  
“Yes.” 

“Huh,” Roxie huffed, and then groaned in disappointment as she saw the picture in the camera of the monster she had encountered yesterday.  
“Terrible shot,” she said and stood up, setting the camera on the sofa table.  
“All right, well, as an inferior human I need a drink right now because I got hurt over a lousy motion blurred picture.” Roxie frowned as she made her way to the kitchen and grabbed a can of soda from the fridge. She closed the fridge with her foot and walked back to the living room, but before she passed the doorway she hit her toe into the threshold. As the pain surged through her, she hissed and some of the soda dripped down to the floor.  
“Mother- fuck,” Roxie cursed and limped to the sofa table setting down her soda can.  
“Are you all right?” Pearl said, “Let me help.” She went to get a rag from the kitchen, cleaning up the droplets from the floor. Roxie looked at her feeling embarrassed by all the trouble she was putting her through. She let out a sigh and wiped her own cheek.  
“You shouldn’t have.”  
“You’ve got quite the mouth on you, Roxie,” Pearl laughed as she washed the rag in the kitchen.  
“Y-yeah?” Roxie grinned and sat down. She watched as Pearl walked to the doorway, “Well, h- how would you like to try this mouth - ”

“Dog is home!” Steven exclaimed from the door. Soon after his call, Hopper ran into the living room, jumping on Roxie and affectionately licking her face. Roxie felt herself frozen in place as she patted her dog with mechanical movements. She was slightly grateful that Steven had interrupted her terrible attempt at flirtation. Not that she was ever any good but she always tried and regretted it instantaneously after. Hopefully Pearl had not paid attention to what she said. Maybe she was too distracted to hear her. Maybe she just assumed it was nothing important. Roxie slowly turned her gaze towards Pearl and saw her give her a crooked smile before she turned to greet Steven. Shit. She must have listened. Of course she would have.  
“Hi Steven!” Roxie said trying to sound cheerful, but her voice wavered.  
“Your dog is sweet,” Steven said from the doorway.  
“Is that right?” She chuckled. She got up from the sofa as she headed to kitchen, “Thirsty?”  
“Yeah!” He agreed and grinned as he catched the soda can Roxie threw to him. Hopper was happily lurking around Steven, smelling him as he was opening the soda can. 

They sat together in the living room for a while and watched TV. Steven patted and scratched Hopper and he panted happily, letting him pat his stomach. Pearl was watching him with that motherly care in her eyes.  
“I’m wondering something,” Roxie said, leaning her chin against her hand, “Where was I, exactly, when we were at your place?”  
“So,” Pearl said, something playful in her eyes, “You wish to know where we live?”  
“We live in Beach City!” Steven interrupted Roxie and gained a disapproving look from Pearl. Roxie patted her fingers against her cheek thoughtfully.  
“Not as far as I thought,” She wondered and then chuckled nervously, adding, “I mean, I thought you might live on the other side of the country.”  
“Nope,” Steven said and took a big gulp from his can, “It’s a really nice town, everybody is good to each other. My friend, Connie and my dad lives there too.”  
“Sounds like a nice place,” Roxie said as her eyes gazed towards Pearl with a smile on her lips. When her eyes met hers, Pearl nodded as she caressed Steven’s back with her hand.  
“You must be exhausted from all of this mess,” she said with sympathy, “Steven, why don’t we go home so Roxie can get some rest?”  
Roxie rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. She didn’t really want them to leave. She had been so lonely and after this accident she felt like she wasn’t so disconnected, out of loop, after all. She felt like she actually had a connection with these mysterious, yet kind, beings. But she had to admit, she was beat.  
“Yeah, I’ve got work tomorrow, anyway,” She said reluctantly as she stood up from the sofa with the others. Steven made a mildly disappointed sound as they walked to the door.  
“Oh, don’t worry, Steven. I’m sure we’ll see each other again,” Roxie tried to cheer him up and glanced meekly towards Pearl, “Right?”  
“Perhaps,” Pearl stated simply and smiled at her lightheartedly.  
“I hope so!” Steven said as he patted Hopper goodbye.  
“Me too.” She watched Steven put on his winter jacket and leaned to the doorway when the two of them stepped outside.  
“See you, Roxie and Hopper!” Steven waved and Roxie waved back at him. Roxie held on to Hopper’s collar so that he wouldn’t run away from the door.  
“Do let us know if your wounds seem like they’re not healing!” Pearl called out.  
“I will. Bye bye!” She struggled to respond and closed the door after them

She watched from the window as Steven and Pearl walked away, until they disappeared from her view. Letting out a sigh, she sunk into the sofa and patted Hopper who jumped on her lap and snuggled against her. She looked at him and shook her head slowly.  
“You had no idea I could have never been able to come home,” she mumbled to him and he whined happily, reaching to lick her cheek. She thought about the first time she woke up to see Pearl next to her and it felt like a dream. Her exquisite face haunted her mind.  
“Boy, I am so fucked. Absolutely and utterly.” Hopper rumbled as he lay his head against Roxie’s chest. The back of her head pressed into the back of the sofa as she stared into the ceiling.


	3. No game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still an improving writer and English isn't my native language. I hope you'll take this into attention in any possible constructive criticism.  
> Comments are encouraged! Here is [my Tumblr blog](http://www.innocuous-demons.tumblr.com/) and here is a A fanmix inspired by the story.

First, several days passed. Only having minor troubles focusing, Roxie concentrated on her job. Customer service was simple for her, it was easy to hide herself behind a friendly mask. Then, second, it had been a week. The wound on her arm was nearly gone. Like it had never happened. Although she was seemingly doing well, she was plagued by sleeplessness and loneliness. Before her incident with the monstrosity of the forest, she had experienced a falling out with a group of friends. Suddenly and unexpectedly, she was suffering from the disconnection. She craved for someone to talk to. There weren’t many. Pearl was still haunting her mind during unguarded moments. A fantasy before falling asleep. A thought during lunch break. During lunch she wondered whether she should drive to Beach City. Would she be welcome? She didn’t even catch their phone number before they left. In the back of her mind, she wondered. Was that on purpose? Did they just want to get rid of her? Steven sure didn’t but the others were more difficult to read. 

Roxie bit her nails as she thought of that. She was taking Hopper out, just walking in the snow. She glanced at her phone. It was only three o’clock. If she left now, she would be in Beach City at four. She opened her bank application and stared at the number thoughtfully. Hopper pulled her forward. She could stay at a hotel of some sort, see around the town for the weekend. Roxie looked down on her dog.  
“Would you like to go to Beach City, boy?” She asked and Hopper wagged his tail with his tongue out.  
“All right!” Roxie said. Might as well, she supposed. Maybe she will like the town. 

Car’s humming silenced with a creak when Roxie stopped by the parking lot at a building. A sign above their door read “Ocean Inn”. She peered at it for a while before Hopper started whining.  
“Yeah, yeah, we’re getting out,” She mumbled and stepped out, opening the back door, letting Hopper out and grabbing her suitcase. She locked the doors and headed into the Ocean Inn. A little bell rang as she stepped inside. An old man sat behind the counter reading a newspaper. When he heard the ring he slowly lowered the paper, glancing over it toward Roxie.  
“Hello,” Roxie said, “Are dogs allowed here?” The man’s grey eyes travelled down to see Hopper sniffing around. A friendly smile spread on his face and he looked back to Roxie.  
“Yeah. I don’t have any supplies for dogs though, so you better have your own. Welcome to Ocean Inn. Now. Would you like a room?”  
“Yes, please. Two nights.”  
“Right. We only have double beds and a room with two beds. Will a double bed do?”  
“That’s fine.”  
When she watched him move and talk, she noticed how he was used to visitors. He didn’t really work hard to appear at his best, he had worked on this job too long for that. The bags under his eyes told of personal troubles. His voice was tired. His life wasn’t very exciting. Something on his mind. Pressure for success. 

“I like how you have decorated the place,” Roxie pointed out. His smile changed, it was soft and thoughtful.  
“Don’t compliment me on that. That’s my wife’s department.”  
“She has great taste.”  
“I will let her know that.” He set down the paper on the counter.  
“Right, then. Eighty-five dollars.” Roxie nodded and swiped her credit card in the machine.  
“You don’t look like you’re from around here,” the man remarked.  
“No I’m not, I’m from north.”  
“Whatever could your business here be? It’s not exactly the high-season right now around here.”  
“I’m meeting a friend.”  
“I see. You know, I know almost everyone around here.”  
“Three women, and a kid with a crazy curly hair?”  
“Ah yes. That could only be Steven Universe.” 

After settling in in the Ocean Inn, Roxie changed her clothes to a dress with warm stockings and leg warmers. She prettied up in the mirror, making sure her hair was at a maximum fluffiness, then she took Hopper with her and headed out to look for Steven’s house. If she remembered correctly, she had seen the sea from outside their window. That must have only meant they lived in the southern side of the city. Roxie walked past the Big Donut and gazed inside. She saw two kids behind the counter and for a moment she thought whether she should go in. Then she decided she would get a donut for Steven. That boy seemed to like foods, maybe he would be excited to get one as a gift. 

“Evening,” Roxie said as she walked into the donut shop. A delicious smell invaded her nose. She looked around at the beautifully decorated treats.  
“Hi! Welcome to Big Donut!” The blonde girl said excitedly and pushed the boy off from in front of her. She leaned on the counter.  
“Thanks. I’m looking to treat a friend. I’m not sure what he likes.”  
“Oh, that’s no good! Are you visiting town, huh? Does he live here?”  
“Yes, he does, actually.”  
“Then that’s problem solved! Who might he be?”  
Roxie smiled and tilted her head before she spoke: “Steven Universe. You know him?”  
“Oh! Do we?! Yeah, we do. He loves our donuts. He’s our friend!”  
“He is? Then you must know what he likes. I’ll take whatever you suggest,” Roxie spoke as she rose her eyebrows. The girl’s name patch read Sadie. Sadie had a low-self esteem. She liked to work with her quiet friend. Roxie’s eyes shifted to the boy with shaved hairstyle. He was glued to his phone. There was something troubling about him. 

Finally, Sadie set a packed treat on the counter.  
“Here you go!” Roxie smiled at Sadie as she gave her a bill.  
“Keep the change,” She insisted and picked the paper bag from the counter.  
“Uh, oh, thanks!” Sadie looked slightly confused as Roxie waved her goodbye and walked out of the shop. She untied Hopper who was waiting by a light pole outside and headed towards the beach. 

Roxie had let Hopper loose. He was running ahead and suddenly disappeared behind a curve of the hill. Roxie half-jogged behind him.  
“Hopper! Boy!” She called out whilst breathing heavily in and out. A building appeared behind the corner. It looked familiar. Hopper ran up the stairs and jumped on a man at the front door.  
“Oh shit,” Roxie said under her breath and quickened her pace.  
“I’m sorry, mister,” She said as she ran up the stairs and saw a dark-brown haired, middle aged man in a grey suit trying to push Hopper away.  
“Keep your dog in check, please, miss.”  
“I’m sorry,” Roxie repeated as she took Hopper and leashed him.  
“Mayor Dewey, this isn’t a good time,” A low female voice interrupted them. Roxie saw the woman she remembered to be called Garnet standing tall at the door frame, leaning against it with a what seemed like a stoic expression. She couldn’t tell much. Garnet was hiding again behind her shades. 

“Ah, there you are,” She said as she noticed Roxie.  
“Pearl! Your date is here!” She heavily intensified the word “date” and suddenly Roxie felt herself sink into a panicked confusion. She held on tighter of the donut bag in her hands.  
“What are you on about?” Pearl asked as she appeared at the door. She was wearing a big yellow sweater with pastel patterns on it. Garnet leaned to whisper something to her, while Mayor Dewey - was he really the mayor? - was trying to stammer a flustered greeting. Garnet straightened back and gestured Roxie to come inside.  
“As you see, Mr. Dewey, Pearl is quite occupied at the moment.”  
Roxie hesitantly walked to the gems and Pearl swung her arm around her shoulder.  
“Ah, yes, I am into the more feminine type,” Pearl said. Roxie felt her discomfort radiating from her. Roxie felt slightly guilty but wasn’t sure why.  
“Have a good day!” Garnet closed the door. 

A long, relieved sigh escaped the two of them. They could see the mayor turn on his heels and head off of their front door. He looked rather miserable. Roxie slid from under Pearl’s arm after mayor Dewey had gone and looked at them in confusion.  
“What was that all about?” Roxie asked and gained an annoyed sigh from Pearl. She realized it wasn’t directed at her, specifically. Garnet was adjusting her shades.  
“Dewey has had a crush on Pearl for ages. We just didn’t know what to do about it,” Garnet explained calmly, “Straight confrontation didn’t seem like a good plan.”  
Roxie nodded. She could understand where they were coming from. She usually believed to be honest with people but sometimes it was better to let people down easy to prevent collateral damage.  
“Successful but miserable men tend to take rejection badly,” Roxie wondered and noticed Pearl looking at her with a curious expression. Hopper was smelling Garnet and she chuckled, patting him gently. With her cheeks suddenly blushing, Roxie had hard time looking away from Pearl’s eyes.  
“You had an exceptional timing, but what are you doing here?” She asked.  
“I, uh,” Roxie stammered and licked her dry lips, “I came to spend a weekend in Beach City. Got a hotel room down at the Ocean Inn.”  
“I see.”  
“You know, I kinda feel bad for that guy,” Roxie said and smiled as she glanced at the front door. She heard Pearl roll her eyes dismissively.  
“He’ll get over it,” Pearl retorted coldly. She looked down as Hopper came to greet her with his sloppy tongue hanging out happily. She crouched down to scratch him from behind his ears. Roxie watched them, feeling happiness boom and bubble inside her. She was still holding the donut bag and realized to gaze around. She shouldn’t see Steven around.  
“Where’s Steven? I brought him his favourite donuts.” Peal gazed towards Roxie and chuckled with surprise in her voice:  
“He went out with Connie. Should be here before his bedtime though.”  
“Oh,” Roxie sighed and looked down at the paper bag, “I guess I’ll put this to the fridge then to wait.” She said as she walked to their fridge and opened it. The foods inside were neatly ordered in the shelves. Roxie noticed lots of child friendly foods. Nothing too fancy. She placed the bag inside and closed it. 

“I’m sorry for barging in like this,” She apologized. Garnet stretched and let out a grunt.  
“I’d say your barging was welcome. Perhaps Mayor Dewey got the hint once and for all,” Garnet said and winked toward Pearl teasingly. Roxie and her laughed quietly about it. Garnet wasn’t as intimidating as she had first thought. She seemed quite nice, in her mysterious own way. After her words, Garnet walked into her room giving them a small wave over her shoulder.

Pearl straightened from petting Hopper and gazed over at Roxie. Roxie fiddled with her fingers before she said:  
“I would have called, but I realized I didn’t have your number.” Pearl blinked in surprise before she rose her finger.  
“Oh, that’s right. Did you have trouble with your wounds?” She asked as if she had finally realized why Roxie had come here. She walked over to the kitchen counter whilst talking and wrote something down on a notebook.  
“No, actually. They are almost gone.”  
“Really?” Pearl seemed puzzled as she ripped a page off of the book. She then offered it to Roxie. Roxie looked down on the paper, noticing a phone number written down. She smiled and put it in the pocket of her winter jacket.  
“Thanks.”  
“It was… very sweet of you to get treats for Steven.”  
“Yeah, well,” Roxie rubbed the back of her neck as she spoke, “I figured I’d get him something for saving my life.”  
“Is that why you’re here?”  
“No,” She said reluctantly and stared at the floor between them. She wiped her hand against her long coat and then let out an anxious sigh.  
“Look,” Roxie started, steeling herself to be as honest as she could be and expect nothing in return, “A few months ago I lost contact with all my close friends. After what happened with you, I had hope that maybe I could make new friends.” She made small gesture toward Pearl. “With you.” Her face looked down before her eyes peeked up coyly.  
“I felt like we had a connection. So, I thought we could hang out. Just. You know, let me know if I’m overstepping my bounds. And I’ll leave. I won’t bother you again, if you don’t want this.”

“That’s not what I was expecting,” She heard Pearl say after a long pause. Pearl laughed and covered her mouth as she said it. There was affectionate pity in her expression. Roxie swallowed awkwardly and looked around with her mouth tightly shut. She pitied her. Of course she would. Roxie hadn’t thought of this outcome. She rubbed her temple and frowned. She was just another human to her. She was a human, just like Mayor Dewey. She could feel the way Pearl felt about her. There was affection, sure, but…

“You would never bother me!” Pearl laughed. Her words made Roxie blink in surprise and look back at her.  
“What?”  
“Humans are so silly,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.  
“But…” Pearl stopped laughing and looked at Roxie with a crooked smile. Pearl placed her hand on her shoulder. She held her breath and saw her shake her head slowly.  
“You know, you remind me of someone, from long ago. I used to dislike him. He took my Rose.”  
“That’s not good,” Roxie muttered under her breath.  
“Steven’s father. You remind me of him. But, at least you’re not playing guitar on our doorstep.” She laughed again.  
“I- I just want to be friends. I don’t want to take anyone.”  
“Let’s say I believe that,” Pearl suggested, her eyes critically on Roxie, “But there is one thing you need to know. I’m not here to play games.”  
Roxie parted her lips and then closed them. She shook her head and took Pearl’s hand into hers, letting her hand down from her shoulder.  
“I don’t play games with people I like,” Roxie said. Her tone was serious. Sincere. Something changed with Pearl. Her eyes widened and a blue hued blush appeared on her cheeks.  
“Fine,” She retorted simply. Crossed her arms and glanced away, then quickly, she looked back at Roxie.  
“So, you want to be friends with a person who was responsible for you to be mauled in the woods?”  
“Why not? That was a pretty good first impression,” Roxie smirked at her. She smiled and shook her head, then took a grip of her arm by her wrist.  
“Let me show you something.” 

Pearl walked her across the house with Roxie with hurried steps.  
“I’ll come back in a bit!” Roxie called out to Hopper who had went to nap on the sofa.  
She stood in front of a big door that Roxie remembered coming through when she left the room Pearl had conjured. It had a star with gems inside it.  
“This is the Temple Gate. It is an universal door to every part of the Crystal Temple,” Pearl spoke. Roxie stared in wonder as she activated the crystals. A gate appeared, warping into an open door. Pearl pulled her inside and heat suddenly invaded her. They stood in a red room with strange veiny roots running through the ceiling.  
“Now we’re at the temple’s basement. This room is called The Burning Room. We store all the corrupt gems we find here.” 

Roxie let out a soft gasp as she wandered slightly ahead of Pearl. She stared at the multitudes of bubbles floating in different heights and different colours. Then she stopped, narrowed her eyes and pointed at one of the bubbles.  
“Those are chips.”  
Pearl chuckled at that and nodded.  
“That’s Steven’s doing. He’s saving them for later.”  
Roxie grinned at Pearl, but then she noticed one of the bubbles floating in front of her.  
“Take it in your hands,” her soft voice guided. Roxie held her breath as she cradled a bubble in her hands. Then she recognized the gem inside. It was cracked, orange crystal. Exactly similar to the one she had seen in the woods the night she got attacked.  
“This is the one,” Roxie whispered, her fascinated eyes glued to the gem inside the bubble.  
“Yes.”  
Roxie moved her head to see the gem from different angles.  
“Such a scary thing. How can it be so beautiful?” She asked and as she gazed upon Pearl she noticed the look on Pearl’s eyes. It was centuries of experience, wisdom, in those large pearly eyes. Burned out innocence. Mistakes. So tired but still trying. Roxie had trouble not feeling the feelings that were weighing Pearl down constantly. Suddenly, she felt terrible. Familiar pressure of human - extraterrestrial - anguish washed over her. Pearl tilted her head at her.

“Something wrong?” 

Roxie let out a drawn out sigh as she let the bubble float away.  
“You carry a heavy baggage, you know.”  
“I know,” Pearl said with her gaze shifting away from her, “You’re reading me again.”  
“I’m sorry, I can’t control it.” Roxie shook her head as if she could shake off the feeling with a gesture. It didn’t help.  
“It’s obviously affecting you,” Pearl smiled cautiously at her.  
“I can carry your weight,” Roxie said softly and grinned.  
“I would like to teach you about the gem history. Would you like that?” She saw Pearl shrug, then she changed the subject. She didn’t like talking about herself.

“Definitely.”


	4. The human pride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still an improving writer and English isn't my native language. I hope you'll take this into attention in any possible constructive criticism.  
> Comments are encouraged! Here is [my Tumblr blog](http://www.innocuous-demons.tumblr.com/) and here is a [A fanmix](http://8tracks.com/lunacy_core/love-songs-for-a-gem) inspired by the story.

Rest of the evening was spent in the room that was conjured a week ago, where Pearl was telling Roxie about the history of her people with the help of her hologram. She was very passionate about the subject and it made a fascinating story for Roxie who, just week ago, thought would never see aliens during her lifetime. Of course, Pearl wouldn’t forget to tell her how The Crystal Gems battled in a big Gem war on Earth with the leadership of Steven’s mother, Rose Quartz. She spoke so highly of her. It wasn’t hard for Roxie to tell that Rose was the person that she had to lose. After she learned about the Homeworld, it was already three in the morning. 

Roxie yawned in the middle of Pearl’s sentence, which made her stop and look at her with pity. Her hologram disappeared and Roxie blinked in surprise. She had tired eyes.  
“Why’d you stop?”  
“I’ve kept you up long enough. It’s been hours. Thank you for listening to me. I hope you learnt something.”  
“I feel like my brain has grown twice the size because of you,” Roxie giggled uncontrollably and leaned her cheek against Pearl’s shoulder.  
“Rose looks so pretty,” Roxie mumbled, she sounded drunk by tiredness.  
“She was.”  
“Much prettier than me. Oh man, that hair,” Roxie sniffed.  
“You don’t need to compare,” Pearl smiled.  
“So sad. So lonely. I wish I could make it all just go away. I could protect you,” Roxie mumbled, eyes closed, half asleep. She sounded so gentle and saddened by her burden. Her empathy was strong to a fault. Pearl huffed out a sigh and slid her arms under the blonde girl. Her winter jacket and boots were scattered on the floor. She took a carrying grip of the girl and rose up, carrying her over to the bed in the small room. Setting her down on the bed, she straightened her dress to cover her up and then put a blanket on her. She was sound asleep now. Pearl was touched, she smiled gently at the human that was lying fully clothed in the bed, before she left the room. 

As the morning came, Steven woke up from his bed and ran down the stairs. A yawn escaped from his open mouth and he rubbed his eyes.  
“Morning, Pearl,” He said with a cheerful tone and walked behind the kitchen counter. Pearl was putting something in a tray in the oven.  
“What are you making?”  
“Why, I’m making apple pie,” Pearl responded and closed the oven. It seemed perfectly reasonable to her to be making apple pie in the morning.  
“In the morning? Can I have cereal?” Steven said. He wasn’t in the mood for a complicated breakfast today.  
“Of course, Steven.” She was humming as she gathered a bowl, milk and the cereal on the counter. While he was waiting, Hopper jogged on to his side and head bumped him on the knee.  
“Hey, guy!” He greeted Hopper as he pet him, “Where’s your owner?”  
“She is sleeping,” Pearl answered in Hopper’s behalf. Steven climbed on one of the bar stools and started to prepare his breakfast.  
“You should have called me that she came. I wanted to introduce her to Connie.”  
“Maybe next time.”  
“Maybe today!”  
“Perhaps,” Pearl looked over her shoulder as she was setting up an alarm for her pie.  
“So, are you guys friends now?”  
“I suppose.”  
“Is she going to stay here, since you made a complete new room and all that? Is she gonna help us fight monsters, like Connie? That would be so rad!” Steven stuffed his mouth full of cereal flakes.  
“No, Steven.”  
“But Pearl! She is so nice! And she has a dog,” Steven spoke with his mouth full while chewing. He looked proud of his argument. It was completely sound to him.  
“Steven, having a dog has no basis on whether you want to be involved with them or not. And don’t speak with your mouth full.”  
“Yes, it is!” Steven looked scandalized before she stuffed another spoonful into his mouth.

Roxie lifted her chin in her sleep and breathed out evenly. She turned her head against the pillow.  
Warm wind blew against her face as Roxie was standing on a pier. Clouds were close to ground, making everything around her misty. Short red haired girl stood out of the mist and pointed at her.  
“I can’t believe you told my boyfriend about Dean. You’re a fucking bitch, you know that.” Her thick makeup was running on her cheeks.  
“You were just jealous I was more successful at practically everything, you just wanted to ruin my life. You were always soft. You were always blinded by ‘doing the right thing’. You were weak.”  
“Were?” Roxie let out a confused laugh but was silenced just as soon as the redhead grabbed her from her shirt.  
“Come on, Miranda, it was the right thing to do.”  
“Shut the fuck up. You are a nobody. You’re a goner,” She whispered. Roxie tried to grip her hand to detach her, but it was too late. She pushed her to the edge of the pier.  
“I hope you drown,” Her words told her hauntingly. Then she pushed. Roxie fell over the rail. She saw her own hair glisten in the wind. She saw Miranda standing at the pier before she was engulfed by the water. Water invaded her mouth. Her lungs.  
Gasping for air, Roxie jumped up to a sitting position on her bed. She hyperventilated as her eyes gazed around in panic. It felt like she was running out of air, but she wasn’t. Miranda’s face haunted her. It was pale and angry. Malicious even. Roxie covered her face with her hands and let out a long, drawn out sigh before she dragged herself to move and stand up from the bed.  
“Holy shit,” Roxie breathed. She looked around the room before it dawned to her. Great, in this room again. She couldn’t even open the door to get out. With a sigh she gathered her shoes and coat from the floor, dusted off her dress and pulled her stockings higher, then she walked to the door and started knocking.

A moment after the door surged open. She took a half-step backward. To her surprise she saw a short purple lady standing in front of her with her hands on her hips. She blew a ball of bubblegum and it popped loudly.  
“Heyo,” The lady spoke lazily and flipped her hair off of her eye, “Name’s Amethyst. You’ve been busy!” Roxie felt her eye all the clothes she was holding.  
“Roxie,” She said and nodded frigidly. She felt like she was under inspection. She held on to her shoes just a little tighter. She just wanted to go to the toilet. Did they have to do this right now?  
“Hanging out with Pearl? You some kinda nerd?” There was a playful tone to her voice and she tilted her head and rolled her bubblegum around her finger. Before Roxie could think of a response, she noticed Pearl approaching them and she spoke:  
“There you are. I hope you slept well. I see you met Amethyst.” Amethyst rose her eyebrow as she looked at Pearl skeptically. She pouted her lips as she put the bubblegum back into her mouth and readied to call Pearl out with suspicion:  
“Hey, Pearl. What happened to “Humans live short, boring and insignificant lives” and “How can they be so infuriating” and “What kind of race has to sleep for nine hours”? What’s up with that, huh?”  
Roxie’s thoughts came to a halt as she heard Amethyst’s words. Of course she had known Pearl thought her kind was somewhat superior, but hearing those words hurt. It became more real. It became a realization that her fears had been correct. She mouthed the word “what” but wasn’t sure if she’d said it out loud in the whirlwind of her thoughts. When she looked at Pearl she was protesting and calling Amethyst’s name in an angry desperation to make her stop.  
“Heh, hold on. Remember that time you had a bet with Greg, that you were better than him, and then after you won the bet he asked you ‘how can you be so good?’ and you just told him that he lost because he’s just a human and he shouldn’t feel bad about it? That was fun.”  
Roxie had heard enough. She pushed through them and said under her breath:  
“I need to go to the toilet.”  
Behind her she heard two of them bickering, and then Pearl calling out to her:  
“She’s just joking around. You don’t believe her, do you?” She was a terrible liar. And then there was Amethyst proclaiming loudly:  
“Man, Pearl does not understand toilets.” 

Roxie locked the toilet door behind her and set the clothes she was carrying on the floor. She freshened up in front of the mirror and dressed up into her outerwear. After done, she stared at herself at the mirror. She looked tired and quite upset, to her surprise. She didn’t know it would show so much. With a sigh she turned to leave and unlocked the door, finding Steven outside it.  
“Hey, Roxie…” He said quietly, “Are you okay? You seemed to get upset about what Amethyst said.”  
“I’m fine, Steven,” She responded to him with a soft sigh, “It’s not her fault.”  
“I- I made pie.” She heard Pearl say from the kitchen. She turned her head to look at her apologetically before she wrote down her phone number on one of the note papers on the kitchen counter. After that, she walked to leash Hopper and walked with him to the door.  
“I’m sorry,” Roxie said, with her voice even and somewhat emotionless, “I have to go.” 

Back at her hotel room Roxie sunk down into a hot tub of bubble water she’d prepared for herself after getting back. Hopper was sitting next to the bath tub licking Roxie’s elbow. She was brought back to reality from her thoughts by the wet tongue sweeping her arm and she giggled, pulling her arm away.  
“Stop that, you silly boy,” She laughed as Hopper panted with his tongue hanging towards the floor. He was staring at her in an unusual way, like he wanted to say something if he could.  
“What is it, boy?” Roxie said as she rubbed Hoppers head with her wet hand. He pulled away and continued staring.  
“Are you telling me to stop feeling sorry for myself, is that it?” Hopper let out a whine.  
“Listen, I barely started.” Roxie smiled and watched as his ears perked up and he jogged out of the bathroom.  
“Hey, what’s up?” She called out after him. Then she heard it, a gentle knock on the hotel room door. Hopper barked.  
“Oh shit.” Roxie hissed and quickly got up. Her hands tried to hastily cover herself with a towel, but it was too small to go fully around her.  
“Oh shit, oh shit.” She took another towel and wrapped them both around her.  
“Roxie, are you there? I can hear you cussing awful lot.” It was Pearl. Her voice was barely audible amidst Hopper’s barks. Great. Roxie checked herself from the mirror before she responded:  
“Hold on.”  
“Hold on to what?” Roxie let out a frustrated sigh.  
“Just... give me a second.”  
“Is something wrong? I’m sorry, you know. I want to fix this.”  
While Pearl was talking Roxie was walking to the door. She left a trail of water droplets behind her. After Roxie realized she would need to use one of her hands to open the door, she bit her lip and tried to fold the towels so that they would stay on her body without her hand. It wasn’t going well.  
“I’m not sure if…”  
“Please, just let me explain.”  
“No. I mean, that’s not it… I’m- Uh, okay. Whatever. I’m opening the door.”  
Bravely, she let go of the towel and opened the door. Pearl’s figure slid in from the door gap and Roxie closed the door behind her. She quickly covered her nipple slip while Pearl stared her awkwardly at the corner of the hotel room. Roxie stared at the floor feeling her cheeks heating.  
“What on Earth are you doing here? You are completely soaked,” She finally spoke with a mixture of confusion and fluster.  
“I was having a bath.” Pearl’s eyes were intent on the towels covering Roxie, before she gazed at the trail of water on the plastic floor. A realization dawned on her face.  
“Oh.” Roxie shivered from the cool air and wetness and turned to walk back to the bathroom. She dropped the towels on the floor and quickly sank back into the hot water. A sigh of relief escaped her and she closed her eyes leaning her head back. She heard Pearl hesitating at the doorway to the bathroom.  
“I have to admit something to you, Roxie,” She heard Pearl say. Her voice sounded different than she was used to, it was less confident and less graceful. There was an element of innocence to it. Roxie opened one of her eyes partly to see Pearl leaning against the doorframe. She wondered about how long Pearl had stood there. Did she actually follow her behind her when she went to the bathroom? Roxie felt her cheeks flush.  
“Yes?”  
“I don’t quite know what the most socially acceptable thing in this situation would be… By human standards, of course.” Pearl sounded like she was rambling. She let out a nervous chuckle at the word ‘human’. Her gaze was wondering in a way that seemed like she wasn’t quite sure if she should be looking at her.  
“I mean, I have bathed Steven of course, but that is probably different…”  
“Pearl, it’s okay,” Roxie said lazily and sat back straight again and opened her eyes to look at her, “You know, I don’t have a bath at home so I want to make the most out of this. I don’t think I’ll be out in a while so if you want to talk you can just come here and do so. You’ve got my permission. Nothing weird about it. Unless naked humans creep you out.” Her words made Pearl laugh and she seemed to relax a bit.  
“Okay,” She psyched herself up by breathing out a few times and walked in. Pearl turned sideways next to the bath tub and sat down, leaning her shoulder against the tub.  
“Better?”  
“Better.” 

Roxie smirked impishly as she rose her wet hand from the water and splatted it on Pearl’s hair. Pearl jumped at the touch and turned her head around with a scandalized expression.  
“Hey!” Roxie let out a belly deep laughter and gasped amidst her laughter while Pearl was trying to fix her hair.  
“Hey, you look good with your hair down,” Roxie said and her laughter calmed down, making a crooked smile appear on Pearl’s lips. She shook her head.  
“You’re confusing me,” Pearl said, “I thought you were upset.”  
“I was,” Roxie admitted while playing with Pearl’s hair, “What you said about humanity was not right. You shouldn’t underestimate us.”  
“I am sorry you had to hear that,” Pearl sighed, her voice worn and tired, “Centuries have made me cynical.” She hesitated and looked down to the ground, then turned to face Roxie. There was determination in her pearly eyes.  
“If it makes you feel better, my view about humans isn’t the same after you. Steven and Connie have helped me understand, as well.”  
Roxie was forming spikes from Pearl’s peachy wet hair. She smiled at the thought that she would have had influence over Pearl. Perhaps she was just saying it to compliment her and whether or not that was true, it was certainly working.  
“Look, I get stuff. I forgive. I think you are a perfectly flawed individual and you don’t need to prove anything to me. I can tell you have no malicious bone in you.”  
“Are you quite sure?” Pearl smiled mischievously. That smile did things to her. Strange, intoxicating things. Roxie couldn’t tear her eyes off of her. Part of her was tempted to make a flirty remark, but she had promised herself to no longer use her terrible flirting. She was sure it would just make Pearl uncomfortable.  
“I’m not quite sure you have any bones at all,” Roxie muttered. Pearl’s laugh was music to her ears, it had a melodic ring. She felt butterflies in her stomach and suddenly felt infinitely more aware that she was naked with her in the same room. Slowly, she moved her arms across her chest to cover up. Pearl didn’t seem to notice, she just smiled a serene smile. Her psychological weight seemed lighter now. She got up and fixed her hair in front of the mirror. 

Roxie decided she’s gotten enough of the bath. The water was cooling off anyway. She got up quietly and dried herself off. While she was rubbing the towel across her back she realized Pearl was side eyeing her. Deeply blushing, she quickly pulled up her panties and placed her bra against her chest, fitting the cups over her breasts and wiggling her arms into the straps. Roxie gripped the hooks on her back but her hands kept slipping and she couldn’t get them to align. While she was struggling, Pearl stepped behind her and gently pushed Roxie’s hands out of the way.  
“Here, let me help,” She insisted as she hooked the bra together.  
“Thanks,” Roxie managed awkwardly as she dried her hands. Pearl smiled at her but she seemed distracted.  
“Hold on,” Pearl’s words wavered and she held Roxie from her shoulder and walked in front of her. She was staring at her breasts and Roxie, suddenly hyperaware of her body, swallowed hard and focused her eyes on Pearl.  
“I love the lace on your bra”, She heard Pearl gasp and then she pointed at the little plastic gems sewn into the fabric, “Look at those, they are so tiny and pretty.” Her words made Roxie laugh. Her chest rose and fell as she laughed.  
“If you like lingerie that much, I should take you to this one shop downtown,” She said and saw Pearl shake her head quickly.  
“I couldn’t wear something like that!”  
“Why not? I bet you’d look gorgeous in lace. Or what about a corset?” Roxie walked out of the bathroom as she spoke and picked out a sweater from her travelling bag. She pulled it over her head and picked up the pants she’d left lying on the floor the day before and put them on. Pearl chuckled with a small blush on her cheeks and she pat Hopper who was smelling her legs. Roxie could feel her stomach growl and she remembered she hadn’t eaten breakfast since she left the beach house in such a hurry.  
“I think I saw a corner store on my way here. I need to get some breakfast.” Roxie said and checked her phone. It was already half past eleven. There was a new message. She saw the profile picture of River with the message, the former boyfriend of Miranda and an old friend.  
“Or brunch, even,” She corrected herself and opened up the message. 

[Received] ‘I just wanted to tell you I’m grateful that you were so honest with me. You saved me a lot of heartache and time by telling me about what Miranda was up to. I’m just sorry things turned out like this. Just remember I’m still here for you if you need a friend.’

Roxie frowned slightly and turned to gaze at Pearl who watched her curiously.  
“What is it?”  
“It’s just fallout of some friend drama,” Roxie explained as she gave her phone to Pearl to let her read the message. Her clear eyes moved through the lines and she let out a thoughtful hum.  
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Pearl said as she gave her back the phone. Roxie shrugged and she stuffed her phone into her jeans pocket.  
“Well, I suppose I will go back home. I have some things I need to finish.”  
Roxie nodded at Pearl as she was putting on her winter jacket. Hopper sat in front of her and let out a whine.  
“I’ll be back in a bit, Hopper. Just wait for me here,” Roxie patted him with a smile and saw that Pearl had put on her jacket and hat as well.  
“Let’s go then.” She opened the door and the two of them walked down the stairs to the reception. Roxie left her key at the reception, as was the house rule, and then walked out together with Pearl. They walked a block together before they parted ways with smiling see yous. Roxie headed inside the grocery store with her hands shaking from hunger.

Roxie saw a car slowing down suspiciously as she walked on the sidewalk towards Ocean Inn back from the grocery store. The car had darkened windows, but as soon as the window started rolling down she realized who it was. Mayor Dewey.  
“Oh shit,” Roxie huffed and tried to walk as fast as she could with her groceries. The car, however, had no troubles following her.  
“Don’t you curse at me, lady! I must speak with you.”  
“Don’t you have anything better to do, Mr Mayor?” Roxie emphasized the word ‘mayor’ as she glanced at him skeptically.  
“Yeah, dad,” She heard a teenage boy’s voice from the other seat in the car, “Can you just, like, not do this right now? That’s so embarrassing.”  
“Quiet, son. Listen, lady,” Mayor Dewey spoke assertively, “You better treat Pearl with respect and dignity, you hear? If I ever overhear that you’ve - ” Roxie frowned. She was dressed in sweatpants for a reason, and the reason for that was she didn’t feel like dealing with this right now. Part of her was tempted to tell Dewey the truth, that she wasn’t really dating anyone, but with a further thought she realized she would probably be doing a disservice to the Crystal Gems. Mayor Dewey would just go back to trying to pursue Pearl against her will again and they would have to gather the courage to turn the mayor down.  
“Hey, as much as I appreciate that, it’s none of your business. You don’t own her. Besides, I’m pretty positive my expertise of the female body exceeds your old ass.” Roxie drew circles into the air with her free hand and successfully gained a loathing scoff from the mayor.  
“You’re disgusting,” he muttered in shock. Roxie had to admit she was just trying to peeve the mayor off out of her own annoyance. There was a impish grin on her lips as she rolled her tongue across her lips.  
“I bet you don’t even know the proper way to work off your tongue when she’s-”  
“That’s it! I’m leaving. But I’ll be watching you!” Roxie laughed as Mayor Dewey was rolling up his window and making a gesture pointing his eyes and then at her. She could hear the boy chuckle beside him as well while Dewey muttered to him:  
“That’s not funny, son.”  
“Pleasure as always, Mr Mayor,” She yelled after him just as he drove away.  
“Bitch,” Roxie muttered to herself and rummaged her grocery bag, taking out a cigarette pack and opening it. She placed the cigarette between her lips and tapped the lighter to light the cigarette. Small flame flicked in front of her eyes and vapor rose up in unclean clouds. Roxie breathed in deeply and let out a puff of smoke. Her steps slowed down to a halt as she approached the door of Ocean Inn and she let herself take a few inhalations of the cigarette while watching the people across the street. There was a mother and a small son. They had onion-like blond hair. The son looked very much like the mother. Roxie blew smoke out of her lungs the final time and then dropped the cigarette, stepped on it and picked it up to throw it in the trash.


	5. Pearl and the humanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still an improving writer and English isn't my native language. I hope you'll take this into attention in any possible constructive criticism.  
> Comments are encouraged! Here is [my Tumblr blog](http://www.innocuous-demons.tumblr.com/) and here is a [A fanmix](http://8tracks.com/lunacy_core/love-songs-for-a-gem) inspired by the story.

Roxie was glued to her computer most of the day. She had planned on going outside to explore the city but she felt like it was too cold for it to be enjoyable. The hotel room WiFi could have been better, but Roxie didn’t mind. She occasionally still visited the forum where they had talked about the monster in the woods, but people seemed to have lost their interest after its disappearance. She opened the photo she had of the monster before it had been bubbled. She wondered how people would react if they knew the truth. If they knew that a group of aliens protected them from an old, unknown threat? During her browsing she found a paranormal investigation blog, featuring Beach City itself, called ‘Keep Beach City Weird’. To her disappointment there wasn’t much to support what Roxie had heard from Pearl, and she laughed when the man behind the blog would write about snake people. After a while she tossed the laptop aside on the table and decided to take a nap. Hopper curled next to her on the bed. She wasn’t sure whether the hotel actually allowed pets in the bed, but she figured what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them. She closed her eyes and felt Hopper’s fur against her cheek. The warmth lulled her into a blissful sleep. 

Next thing she knew was a knock on the door. Her eyes shot open and she heard Hopper rush to the door with his nails scratching the door on the way. Slowly, she got up from the bed, rubbing her eyes, and dragged her feet to the door where Hopper was barking at the unknown visitor. Roxie opened the door and narrowed her sleepy eyes. Pearl was standing in front of her. Roxie felt her rush of misery and she felt like she had been under a bucket of ice cold water.   
“Hey,” Roxie said softly and stepped aside to give Pearl space to walk in.   
“Would you like more history lessons?” Pearl asked with a forced cheerfulness in her voice.   
“No,” She declined and eyed her with worry, “You’re not up to it.”   
“Come on,” Pearl sighed, “I could use the distraction.” She stepped inside and closed the door for Roxie. Whatever was going on with her, she could feel Pearl’s distress. She was lonely and craved for affection. Without thinking, Roxie took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Pearl’s slim and delicate body. She gently rubbed her back as she leaned her chin on Pearl’s shoulder. She seemed to freeze for a second, but she didn’t push Roxie away.   
“What are you doing?” Pearl’s voice cracked with confusion. Roxie could feel her fragility as she was so close to her. Her warmth pressed against her. She closed her eyes.   
“You needed a hug,” She explained. She kept her voice quiet and comforting. Pearl stayed silent after her words. She pressed her forehead against Roxie’s hair and let out a shaky sigh. Her arms reached around Roxie and pressed her close. They were desperate, like they were trying to grip the last shreds of reality they still had. Then a silent sob drew a hole into the silence. Roxie hushed gently and caressed Pearl’s hair as she cried against her shoulder.   
“I’m so tired of this,” Pearl whimpered behind her sobs, “I just want out of this planet.”

After a moment her sobs became sniffles and she stopped with a sigh. Slowly, Roxie loosened her hold of her and stepped a half-step backwards to take a look at her. Pearl’s eyes were wet with tears and she looked exhausted. She took a napkin from the bedstand and walked to wipe tears from her face. Pearl let her do so as she closed her eyes.   
“There you go,” Roxie said as she stuffed the napkin into her pocket. She saw Pearl’s pale eyes watching her and she met her gaze.   
“Would you like to talk about what happened?” Pearl tore her eyes off of Roxie to look away reluctantly.   
“It’s not good to repress things like this,” Roxie reasoned and she placed her hand on Pearl’s cheek, making her turn her gaze back at her. Pearl gave her a small, hesitant, nod and she dropped her hand from her cheek.   
“I had an argument with the others,” Pearl said. Her voice was rough from crying.   
“Amethyst and Garnet?”   
“Mostly Amethyst but, yes.”   
“Does this happen often?” Roxie asked, she walked to the side of her bed and sat down. Hopper jumped on the bed as well. He curled up to lie down behind her back. Pearl followed Roxie’s example and sat on the edge of the side of the bed. Her hands pressed down on the soft fabric as she leaned on it.   
“Occasionally. It’s often my fault.” Pearl hung her head. Looking at her pitifully, Roxie let out a sigh.   
“How come?” This seemed like a difficult question for her. She shifted on the bed uncomfortably, trying to think of an answer.   
“I tend to make selfish decisions,” Pearl’s voice wavered indecisively, “I tend to lie. Now, Amethyst found out I use my hologram to interact with Rose. Or rather, imagine that I’m interacting with Rose. She made a huge issue out of it. Garnet said I need to let go, like they have done.” Her eyebrows furrowed angrily. She huffed and stared at her hands. There was a moment of a pause. Finally, Roxie said quietly:   
“Well, have you thought that maybe they are right?”   
“But I can’t!” Pearl raised her voice and punched the fabric of the bed. She had a blue hues on her cheeks, “I must not!”   
“Why?” Roxie asked, “What good will that gain you?”   
“There are things they wouldn’t understand! Things you wouldn’t understand!” Pearl wailed. She was running out of words. The anger emanating from her was difficult to diffuse. Roxie couldn’t help but feel a little heated herself. She stood up and faced her. Seeing her like this, because of someone, made her feel a pang of resentment towards Rose.   
“Pearl, you idolize her,” Roxie confronted her, “Even though she didn’t even reciprocate your feelings. Chose someone else. You still do. You’re blind to Rose’s faults. She might have been a good person, but she left a trail of broken people behind her out of choice. Doesn’t that seem selfish to you? You need to stop living in the past! We can continue worshiping our loved ones after they are gone all we want, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are no longer here. That just makes you a shell of a person.” 

There were teardrops in Pearl’s eyes as Roxie spoke. She got up as well. Pearl pushed her away from her. Tears fell on her cheeks as she stared at Roxie with bewildered look in her eyes. Then it shifted. It was angry. Bitter. She narrowed her eyes. Roxie could feel how Pearl burned inside. Centuries old anguish and sorrow boiling up in flames. She rose her hands defensively trying to step backwards away from Pearl, but she stopped her. Grabbed the neck of her shirt.   
“This has got to be some kind of a joke. Why would…” Pearl’s voice broke down and tears dripped down from her cheeks.   
“Why? A human with a name similar to hers, telling me to get over it. Telling me to forget - about her! How twisted, how cruel! You mock me,” her tone was was aggressive and it shifted into dark. Her expression was full of grief. She let Roxie go, to her surprise. She lost her balance from the sudden release and hit her back on the floor. She heard Hopper bark from the bed.  
“Pearl, no,” Roxie managed weakly. Her eyes widened in horror as Pearl pulled out her spear from her gem and aimed it at her. It glistened intimidatingly. She had lost her temper. Roxie swallowed hard. She could feel that Pearl wouldn’t hurt her, she just liked to be dramatic, especially when she was angry. She was making a point. Even then, she felt scared. This was a whole new side of her. She bordered abusive. Blinded by her experience. She wouldn’t hurt, she couldn’t, Roxie repeated in her head, like mantra.  
“Without her, I would be nothing. One thing I never understood, was what she saw in humanity. With Steven, I had to believe. I had to… Because she was no longer here…” For a moment, she trailed off, before her hardened eyes looked back at her again.   
“You would dismiss her. I can’t believe it, after all she’s done for you.”   
Roxie shook her head.   
“What?”  
“I know she saved Earth. That’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Pearl.”   
Pearl lowered her spear. It disappeared into the thin air. She was exhausted. Confused.  
“What do you mean?”   
Roxie took a deep breath.   
“You’re living your life for her instead of yourself, can’t you see? I just want to see you happy. I can’t stand seeing you broken like this. Neither would she. I feel like she did all those things for you, because she wanted you to learn to be your own gem, instead of living for someone else.”  
“I’m not broken,” Pearl whispered. She looked so lost. Her gaze went through her.   
“Listen, I’m sorry. It wasn’t right of me. But you need to stop this,” Roxie said, a cough escaped her. She hit the floor harder than she’d realized. Her whole back hurt. Hopper had jumped down from the bed and was now licking her cheek worriedly.   
“Oh no,” Pearl breathed out as she watched Roxie on the floor. Roxie’s hair was a mess around her. Tears dripped from Pearl’s eyes. It’s like she just woke up from a anger induced haze.  
“I hurt you,” Her voice cracked.   
“Just say you’re sorry,” Roxie managed to mutter through her pain.   
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Pearl sobbed as she covered her face with her hands.  
“All right… Good… I accept your apology,” Roxie spoke gently before she opened her arms invitingly, “Now come here.” A weak smile appeared on Pearl’s teary face and she set down on her knees and laid her head against Roxie’s chest. She wrapped her into a warm embrace and laid her chin on top of Pearl’s head. Lulling her in her arms Roxie closed her eyes and smiled as Hopper panted happily, licking both of Roxie’s and Pearl’s faces. Pearl chuckled as well and tried to push the dog away.

Roxie felt a sudden spike of pain in her back and groaned. Pearl rose up from on top of Roxie and looked at her with concern.   
“I’m fine,” Roxie grumbled and pushed herself slowly into a sitting position, “I’m sure it will go away in a jiffy.” Pearl’s eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully as she got up from the floor. She offered her hand to Roxie and when she placed her hand on her palm, she pulled her up as well.   
“Oof,” the blonde girl whined and raised her eyebrow curiously when Pearl walked behind her and pulled up her shirt.   
“I don’t see any bruises,” She wondered and ran her fingers across her spine. Roxie felt a shiver run through her but tried to cover it up by coughing into her fist.   
“All right,” Roxie let out a laugh that was more awkward than she intended, “That’s enough. I’ll be fine.” She pulled her shirt down and saw Pearl lean her fingers against the side of her face pensively and she clicked her tongue:  
“If you say so.” She flung herself on the couch and held her legs close to her body, then looked up at Roxie with a hopeful expression on her face.   
“May I teach you more now?”   
“Why so excited?” Roxie asked with an amused tone in her voice. Her question made Pearl think for a moment, before she shrugged and said:  
“I suppose I enjoy speaking to somebody who isn’t involved with all of this.”  
“Fair enough. I’m ready for a lecture, then. But remember, I have an early morning tomorrow,” Roxie grinned as she sat down next to Pearl. 

They got comfortable and Pearl started explaining the social structure of the Homeworld gems with the help of her hologram. She told her about how new gems are made and for what purposes. In the middle of her explanation Roxie interrupted her.  
“So that’s why Rose had to give up her form. Because gems cannot technically reproduce.”   
“Yes, Steven is a very special gem in that matter. Parenting him has it’s risks. We can never underestimate small changes in his health.”   
“Is he illegal in the Homeworld?” Roxie asked and gained a surprising silence from Pearl. She was usually so eager to answer her questions, but then she seemed to hesitate.   
“I don’t know, it’s never been done before. I suspect if an Homeworld gem knew about him, they would see him as an inferior abomination of a gem.”  
“And you don’t see him that way?”   
“Of course not. I love him, he’s Rose’s legacy. I admit, I did disagree strongly on his creation, but there was nothing I could do about it. I thought it was a mistake. But Steven… Watching him grow. It has been fascinating. I just wish Rose was here to see it.”   
“Maybe I should meet Steven’s dad. He sounds like an interesting person,” Roxie’s words made Pearl chuckle.   
“Perhaps you should meet Greg.” Pearl placed her arm on the back of the couch and yawned.   
“What about love?” Roxie hesitated asking. She saw Pearl look at her questioningly.   
“What about it?”   
“What purpose does it serve for gems?”   
“That’s an interesting question. As I told you, Homeworld looks down on fusion. Garnet would be a good example. She is an embodiment of gem love. Ruby and Sapphire share a special bond and they can’t stand to be apart. So you could say, that from Homeworld’s point of view, no, love does not serve any purpose to gems. Of course, we, The Crystal Gems, disagree.” Roxie tapped her chin thoughtfully and started slowly:  
“Then, wouldn’t that suggest that Rose wanted conceive Steven out of her desire to fuse with Greg, because that’s what gems want to do when they are in love?”  
“I’m afraid it would be more complicated than that,” Pearl shook her head. Roxie hummed in response. She thought her theory was valid but perhaps she was over-simplifying things. She picked her phone out of her pocket and checked the time. 

“It’s already half past eleven. Are you going to go home or do you want to stay here?” Roxie asked and saw Pearl sigh and sink her hand into her hair as she leaned against her thighs.   
“I think I should stay here,” She said. Her fingers were making a mess of her peachy hair. Roxie opened Steven’s home number and glanced Pearl.  
“Can I call them to tell them you’re all right? They might be worried.” Pearl gave her a nod from between her hands. She didn’t seem too eager of the idea, but it was best to give them peace of mind so they wouldn’t come looking for her. Roxie placed her phone against her ear. While she was waiting on someone to pick up the phone, Hopper jumped on her lap and leaned against her. Smiling, Roxie patted him as she was listening to the dialing tone. Soon after, she heard the phone being picked up.   
“Heeey, Universe house or whatever!” She heard Amethyst voice on the other end.   
“Hey, It’s Roxie -” She started, but before she could continue, Amethyst interrupted her.   
“Oh, hey! Look, man, I’m sorry for what happened in the morning.”  
“That’s okay, I’m over it.”  
“Good, ‘cos I didn’t mean it bad. I’m actually psyched to hear Pearl could get on with a human so well,” Amethyst laughed in the middle of her words, “I mean, about time, am I right?”   
“You’re not wondering where she is?”   
“Huh? Oh, you know about that. Is she, like, with you?”   
“Yeah. She’s staying here for tonight. Could you perhaps let the others know, so they wouldn’t worry?”   
“Okay,” Amethyst responded cheerfully. Then there was a pause. Roxie was about to open her mouth just before she heard Amethyst speak again, in a quieter voice, “Is she, you know, okay and stuff?” Trying to figure out what Pearl would have want her to respond, Roxie turned to look at Pearl. She smiled meekly back at her.   
“She’s okay for now,” Roxie said while staring at her pale eyes.   
“Good. Hey… Thanks,” Amethyst voice was so sincere it made Roxie tighten the hold of her phone a little tighter.   
“Huh?”   
“You know, for helping her and stuff. I’ve got friends like that too. It means a lot to know she does, too.”   
“Hey,” Roxie smiled and felt warmth in her chest, “No problem. That’s what I’m here for. Anyway, she’ll come home tomorrow. Bye!”  
“See ya!” 

After Amethyst’s goodbye Roxie hung up the phone. Pearl was stretching her arms as she turned her eyes towards her.   
“That sounded like Amethyst,” She said. Roxie nodded at her.   
“Yes, it was. She was worried about you.”   
“Heh. Silly,” Pearl smiled as she shook her head. Roxie smiled along with her and caressed Hopper on her lap. Then, she gently pushed him off and got up, walking to her travelling bag and picked a loose shirt from inside it. She set it on the bed but before she could pull her shirt over her head she heard Pearl ask:   
“What are you up to?” Roxie parted her lips when she turned to look at Pearl curiously.  
“I’m getting ready to bed,” She explained with a little confusion in her voice.   
“Oh,” Pearl hummed and placed her forefinger between her lower lip and quickly turned her head away.   
“Is that a problem?” Roxie questioned.   
“No,” She said and chuckled slightly, “I just forgot that you need sleep.”   
“You forgot?” Roxie laughed with disbelief and she turned toward the bed as she pulled her shirt over her head. She threw the shirt on the pile of the bag and detached the hooks of her bra and proclaimed dramatically:   
“Freedom!” She threw the bra into the same pile of clothes. Pearl was watching her with her arms crossed on the back of the couch. She rested her head on her hands with a smile on her lips and a fascinated look in her eyes. Roxie didn’t pay attention to this as she pulled on the oversized shirt and started undressing her pants. When she had gotten her pants off of her legs she glanced behind her and saw Pearl at the couch watching her. Roxie felt herself blush and she straightened her back and combed through her long hair with her fingers nervously.   
“So… Do you sleep, or…” She muttered and trailed off. She played with a lock of her hair. Seeing Pearl smile at her with lidded eyes made her feel butterflies in her stomach again.   
“Hmmh, I don’t need to, but I do from time to time,” Pearl said.   
“Hold still.” Roxie held her hands up and quickly took her camera out of her bag. She aimed it at Pearl and took a photo without a flash. She rose the camera on her eye-level and looked at the picture she had taken.   
“Perfect,” She gasped. Pearl shook her head with a smile and then got up and walked to the bed. She pushed the blanket off of the side of the bed and lied down with her head on the pillow.   
“You don’t want a blanket?”  
“No, you can have it.” Shrugging, Roxie went to close the lights and then curled up under the fluffy blanket. She set her phone on the night stand with an alarm in it. She reached her hand down to pat Hopper that lied down next to the bed. For a moment, she listened to the silence between them. She slowly turned to face Pearl. She was staring at the ceiling in the darkness.

“Pearl, why do you want to leave Earth?” Roxie spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper.  
“Don’t worry about it,” She heard Pearl say in a same volume, “I always say that when I’m troubled.”   
“But why?” Roxie could see Pearl’s irises glisten in the dark enchantingly as she turned to look at her.   
“Because I feel like I’m trapped here,” She responded quietly and her arm slid under her pillow as she turned to face Roxie by rolling on her side. Roxie couldn’t imagine what it must have been like, to feel trapped in a place one has stayed in for a millenia. Suddenly it felt completely fair that Pearl was acting the way she was.   
“I’m sorry,” Roxie breathed with tender compassion. Pearl huffed out a chuckle.   
“I wish I could explore the galaxies,” Pearl said with something affectionate and dreamy in her voice. Roxie smiled and snuggled against her pillow.   
“I used to dream about that too. I read so much science fiction. But I have accepted that it won’t happen in my lifetime.” Roxie watched Pearl staring at her. She licked her lips before she added with a lighter tone, “But meeting you, it’s been the next best thing.” Her words gained a chuckle from Pearl.   
“Sweet-talker,” She said with amused dismissal. Pearl placed her hand on Roxie’s face and she giggled against the hand trying to tear it away.   
“I’m just being honest!” Roxie huffed after her laughter and felt laughter tears in her eyes. Pearl let go of her face and snickered:  
“Just go to sleep, you.” Roxie flopped the blanket on top of Pearl and wiped her tears.   
“Fine,” She said with an amused voice, “But you need a blanket.”   
“Fine.” Pearl sighed and she pulled the blanket on her, closing her eyes as she lied on her side. 

She had forgotten how it felt like sleeping next to someone. It had been ages since that happened. Their warmths combined, against the coldness of the world. Tonight, Roxie would have no nightmares. Quite the opposite. Her dreams were kind and gentle. She enjoyed the closeness to the fullest. She felt safe. Between her dreams, she woke up and watched in wonder as Pearl’s hologram was showing whatever it willed as she slept. Roxie silently moved her hand through the projection and then pulled her hand away. She soon fell back asleep. Back to the dreamland.


	6. The love of a mechanic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (this story is completely unrealistic because Roxie can fit her phone into her girl-jeans pocket)
> 
> I'm still an improving writer and English isn't my native language. I hope you'll take this into attention in any possible constructive criticism.  
> Comments are encouraged! Here is [my Tumblr blog](http://www.innocuous-demons.tumblr.com/) and here is a [A fanmix](http://8tracks.com/lunacy_core/love-songs-for-a-gem) inspired by the story.

The next day, Pearl and Roxie woke up early and Roxie packed her suitcase. Together they cleaned the room and as Roxie was leaving the key at the reception the familiar old man gazed between Pearl and her.   
“I’m sorry, but you should pay for your friend’s stay. I know she stayed the night here,” the man said. Pearl tried to object but Roxie rose her hand and said:   
“No, it’s fine. I’ll pay it.” 

After making her payments she walked out and narrowed her eyes at the morning sun. Roxie saw her car at the park and noticed the windshield covered in bird feces. She sighed with frustration and unlocked the doors to store her bag in the back seat.   
“You could go to It’s A Wash. You said you wanted to meet Greg, didn’t you?” Pearl suggested.   
“Sounds good,” Roxie sighed and she climbed into the front seat. Hopper jumped in after her and took the seat next to the driver. Before she closed her door she looked at Pearl.   
“Are you going to walk home?”  
“I could use some fresh air,” Pearl nodded. Then, she waved Roxie goodbye and she started the engine. Roxie waved at her and then set off. Buildings passed. She watched the surroundings, trying to spot the right building. At the edge of the city, she noticed a neon sign with an elephant and the words ‘It’s A Wash’ under it. Roxie slowed down as she drove in front of the gate. It started automatically roll up to the ceiling and she drove inside the car wash. She opened her door and walked out with Hopper and then pressed the button to close the gate. When she was walking to the office door, she passed a van with ‘Universe’ written on the side. She gazed at it curiously before she walked into the office. 

“Good morning,” Roxie called out and a middle aged man seemed to jump with surprise behind the counter and turned down the radio he was listening to.   
“Morning. Welcome to It’s A Wash,” He responded cheerfully and leaned against the counter.   
“Slow day, huh?”   
“It just started.” The man, who Roxie assumed was Greg, smiled a toothy smile. He had some balding on his head, but it didn’t stop him having long hair. A reminder of his youth. Roxie could tell just by looking at him that his life used to be more glamorous than this, but he didn’t have much complaints.   
“You must be Greg Universe,” Roxie voiced her assumptions. She gained a reserved look from the man.   
“Yeah… Do I know you?”   
“No, you don’t. I’m Roxie. I’m a friend of Pearl’s,” She introduced herself. Greg stared at her in disbelief and then a throaty laughter escaped him like Roxie had told him a hilarious joke.   
“That can’t be right,” He said as he wiped his eyes. Roxie’s eyebrows furrowed and she asked:   
“What?”   
“Pearl doesn’t have friends like that.” Roxie had hard time believing how many people didn’t find it plausible that Pearl could make friends. Part of her felt slightly insulted in Pearl’s behalf. She gritted her teeth and crossed her arms.   
“She does now,” Roxie objected tensely, “Now, are you going to wash my car or not?” Her irritated words seemed to surprise Greg and he sighed and looked at the screen on his counter.   
“All right, all right, jeez.” Greg looked at the screen of Roxie’s car inside the washing garage and started the washing program.   
“It’s too early for this kind of conversation,” He said yawning and watched Roxie with slight curiosity.   
“So, what’s your story?” Greg asked, “With the gems, I mean.”   
“They saved my life,” Roxie said simply, after a bit of hesitation.   
“Hoo, boy,” He bellowed. Feeling her irritation growing, Roxie opened her mouth to bite back:  
“Rose gave her form to have a son with you. The Crystal Gems protected Earth during gem war. Still… I wasn’t expecting the man they told me about to be… like this.” Greg sighed and hung his head.   
“I’m doing everything I can to support Steven. I just hope that’s enough.” His tired words hit Roxie close. Perhaps he had a reason for his bitterness. The blonde girl looked down remorsefully.   
“I’m sorry. This was an awful start,” Roxie said, “I just wanted to talk to another human who knows the gems. There is so much I don’t understand.”   
“That’s fine,” Greg smiled his drained smile, “Listen, I have a tip for you. They are like family to me and all, but I’m telling you, don’t get too involved. It will bring nothing but trouble.” Roxie knew his warning was fair. She took off her jacket and rolled up her sleeve, showing the scar the monster in the woods had left.   
“I’m already involved,” Roxie said darkly. She saw Greg inspecting the scar curiously.   
“I can’t believe they told you all of those things,” He shook his head, “They always keep me in the dark. What makes you so special?” Roxie put her arm back into her jacket sleeve and shrugged at Greg’s question.   
“Pearl loves to lecture me,” Roxie said with a soft voice and she smiled dreamily, “I guess she thought she owed me an explanation. But after that, it wasn’t anymore. She was just telling me everything she knew. She said that she enjoyed talking to someone who wasn’t involved.” Greg’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He leaned his chin against his hand.   
“But by teaching you, she’s made you involved. It doesn’t make sense.” Roxie nodded. Greg had a point. If they wanted to protect her, they should have made her forget them completely. Couldn’t they do that? Wouldn’t that have been safer? Why take a risk for a single victim? 

“Whatever is going on in Pearl’s head, you should tell her to stop. You don’t need this. You deserve a normal life,” Greg spoke with a serious look on his face. Roxie felt ache in her chest when she heard those words. She could tell Greg didn’t speak out of malicious intent, but out of experience. He was just trying to help and he had a good point.   
“But I can’t,” Her voice broke down near the end of the word and she felt herself breathe shallow. The man with the graying hair tilted his head questioningly.   
“I can’t,” Roxie repeated and forced the next words out of her mouth, “I like her.” Greg leaned his head down and rubbed his temple. He let out a drawn out sigh.   
“I can’t help you,” He said finally, “You’ll have to figure that out yourself, I’m sorry. Besides, Pearl wouldn’t like it if she heard me telling you what to do. You’ve got to make a decision by yourself.” Roxie nodded rigidly at his words.   
“I understand. Thanks anyway, Greg,” She said and sat down to wait for her car to be done washing. She caressed Hopper’s head against the palm of her hand and leaned her chin to her other hand. A moment passed in silence before a little beep could be heard. Greg got up from his chair and walked out of the office. Roxie pulled out her phone out and re-read the messages on her phone. 

[Received] [River:] ‘I just wanted to tell you I’m grateful that you were so honest with me. You saved me a lot of heartache and time by telling me about what Miranda was up to. I’m just sorry things turned out like this. Just remember I’m still here for you if you need a friend.’

[Sent] ‘I’ll keep that in mind.’ 

Her response was cold but she didn’t feel like hearing more of it. She turned off her screen and looked down on Hopper, who glanced up to her with a curious expression.   
“Let’s go home, yeah?” She said and pat his head. Greg walked back to the office and Roxie got up.   
“Yep, it’s clean now,” He announced and Roxie placed a few bills on the counter.   
“Thanks. Hey, see you around, Greg.”   
“No biggie,” Greg smiled, “Take care of yourself.” Roxie nodded as she walked out the door with Hopper and got into the garage. Her car was so pristine clear it looked like it was nearly brand new. Happily, she got in the car and got ready for the long drive home. 

A few weeks passed. Roxie had phone calls with Pearl and the other Crystal Gems nearly everyday and sometimes, Pearl called her before she had a chance. They had such long phone calls Roxie was dreading for her phone bill. After that, they decided that it would be cheapest for them to visit each other instead, preferably using the gem’s portal as driving would cost gas. Pearl visited her a few times. One day, a Friday to be exact, Roxie was leaving home for work and as she sat in her car and started the engine. It let out a dying noise and shut down. Cursing that day, she took a bus to work. Work was full of difficult people. Roxie felt like she was going to scream into one old lady’s face that, no, she wasn’t getting a specific shoe size, and no, they didn’t have it in the back. After her shift was over she dressed up quicker than she normally did and she ran out. It was snowing out. She decided to walk home that day. The pace of her feet was fast out of frustration. Over half-way there her phone rang. Her breath formed white clouds in the air as she grabbed her phone from her jeans pocket and placed it on her ear. 

“Roxie,” She said and continued walking.   
“Hey, it’s me,” A familiar melodic voice soothed her annoyance.   
“Hey, Pearl.”  
“You sound out of breath. Are you quite all right?” Pearl sounded worried.   
“I’m walking - I don’t do that very often, except when I take Hopper out,” Roxie huffed. A delicious giggle could be heard from the line. She felt the butterflies in her stomach. Sweetly twisting her insides with a little nervousness.   
“Maybe you should,” She heard Pearl retort. Roxie let out a short laugh.   
“Shut up,” Roxie said with an amused tone. She could still hear Pearl giggle on the other end.   
“You sound adorable when you’re out of breath,” Pearl chuckled. Roxie huffed at her in response and took a turn in a street corner.   
“This day has been terrible.” Pearl’s laughter was probably the only good thing she’d heard all day.   
“My car broke down and I had to take the bus,” Roxie continued, “And work has been hell.” There was a slight pause on Pearl’s end, before she asked:  
“What happened with your car?”   
“Engine died.”   
“Sounds easy. I’ll do it.” Roxie was taken aback.   
“Wait, what?” She asked.  
“I’ll fix your car.” Pearl said it like it was the simplest thing in the world  
“You can do that?” Roxie was dumbstruck. She would have never guessed Pearl to be a car-mechanic type.   
“I’ll be there in a bit,” Pearl said excitedly and hung up. Roxie looked at her phone in shock and slowed down her pace.   
“O-Okay,” She said into the silence of the city. 

When Roxie made it home, she took Hopper out for a walk. Hopper was eager about the falling snow and wanted to run and catch the flakes, but Roxie was too tired to run with him, so she just let him run freely. Besides, there weren’t many cars or people on the road. Roxie followed Hopper home and as she turned to her home street, she saw Pearl standing at her door. It didn’t take her long to notice Roxie as Hopper ran to Pearl as fast as he could and started licking her hand.   
“There, there,” Pearl chuckled at the dog and lifted her gaze to Roxie.   
“Ah, there you are.” She smiled. She was holding a toolbox in her other hand. Roxie also noticed her wearing a soft pink scarf and a jacket. She tried the fabric between her fingers and let out a fascinated sound.   
“Why are you always so well dressed?” Roxie sighed dreamily. Her comment made Pearl grin.   
“You never run out of compliments, do you?” She asked teasingly.   
“I have a hoard in my basement.”   
“You don’t even have a basement,” She laughed and Roxie smiled with her as she unlocked the door and let Hopper go inside. 

“All right then,” Pearl shook off her amusement, “Shall we repair your car?”   
Nodding, Roxie closed the door and ran back down the stairs and stuffed her hands into her backpack pocket to get the keys for the car. She pressed the button of her keys and her car beeped in alert. Pearl followed her and let her toolbox down next to the car. She crossed her arms and watched Roxie sit inside the car and try to turn on the engine. It made a similar dying moan as it did in the morning. Roxie spread her palms and shook her head.   
“It was like this in the morning.” Pearl watched the car with a finger on her lip and then she nodded thoughtfully frowning.   
“I see.” Pearl opened the hood of the car and looked inside. Her gem formed a hologram light that lit up the insides of the hood. Roxie sat at the driver’s seat for a moment in silence before she got up and walked to look at what Pearl was doing. She handled her tools carefully and precisely. Pearl flipped a screwdriver in her hand and messed with the cables. She had her tongue on her upper lip and she stared down in concentration as she pressed down and twisted the screwdriver.   
“Try turning it on now,” She advised. Roxie hesitated before she sat back down inside her car.  
“Are you sure? Is that safe?”   
“I know what I’m doing.”   
“Okay,” Roxie hummed as she tried to start the engine again. The twist of the key got the engine back to life. She gasped and saw Pearl still holding the screwdriver inside the hood.   
“Good. Now, turn it off,” Pearl called out over the sound of the motor. Roxie turned the key and the engine grew silent. She stepped out of the car to face Pearl.   
“What’s your diagnosis, doctor?” She asked playfully. Pearl looked at the inside of the hood seriously.   
“I’d say you need to replace the cables of the battery terminal. They are corroded. You could just clean them, sure, but your car will just die on you again after a while,” Pearl spoke evenly. The news made Roxie sigh out of frustration.   
“Do you know how expensive it will be?”   
“I doubt it will cost a fortune,” Pearl smiled at her and wiped her forehead with her hand. Her hand left a stain under her gem. She closed the hood and put her tools away. 

“I don’t know about you, but after this day, I need a smoke,” Roxie huffed and she took out her cigarette pack. She flipped it open and pulled a cigarette, placing it between her lips. Then, she glanced at Pearl and offered the pack to her.   
“I’ve never…” Pearl trailed off. Roxie was about to pull the pack away but before she could do that, Pearl pulled out a cigarette from the pack and, mirroring Roxie, placed one between her lips.   
“Now, don’t inhale too much on the first try. Just take it easy. And breathe out deeply,” Roxie guided and lit her cigarette. She inhaled and then picked the cigarette between her fingers and breathed out. Then she looked at Pearl and confirmed:  
“Yeah?” Pearl nodded at her and lifted her head slightly as Roxie lit her cigarette. She breathed in shallowly and then out, forming a cloud of smoke in front of her eyes. A small cough escaped her.   
“Not bad.” After a few more tries, she said:  
“That’s… Surprisingly relaxing.” Pearl took the cigarette from between her lips and looked at Roxie.  
“Nothing like a little death to numb the nerves,” Roxie muttered as she blew smoke out of her lungs and gazed at the warning labels of the cigarette pack. One of them read ‘Smoking causes early death’. Pearl inspected the cigarette closely before she breathed it in again.   
“I’ve always wondered why people do this strange ritual.” Pearl’s deliberate words made Roxie giggle. Pearl didn’t understand many human things, and since she didn’t eat or drink, Roxie was surprised that she was willing to try smoking. But there she was, blowing smoke out of her lungs like she’d done it a thousand times. If Roxie was completely honest with herself, there was something sensual about it. Pearl was only missing a black leather jacket and a motorbike. She had a foolish smile on her lips as she imagined it. Then, she wished she actually had a motorbike so she could make that fantasy a reality. Roxie dropped her cigarette on the ground and stepped on it and then picked it up, glancing at Pearl. 

“Are you going to come inside?” Roxie asked. She saw Pearl inhale with her eyes closed and then blowing out again. She seemed to be really enjoying the smoke. Roxie wasn’t sure whether she should be ashamed or proud for tainting her innocent and pure flower this way. She tried to shake the thought off of her head. Pearl parted her eyes to look at her.   
“In a minute,” She said. She sounded distracted. Roxie settled for a nod and walked up the stairs to her apartment after locking the car from a distance. She put dog food for Hopper on his bowl and started to prepare dinner. After a while there was a thud by the door as Pearl set her toolbox on the ground. Roxie glanced over her shoulder as Pearl walked into the kitchen and dropped the used cigarette in the trashcan.   
“What are you cooking?” She asked as she looked over Roxie’s shoulder.   
“Yesterday’s chicken soup,” Roxie said and and smiled shyly at Pearl by her shoulder. The soup was warming up on the stove. Roxie let go of the mixing spoon and took a paper from the paper roll and wet it a little with tap water. 

“Hold still,” She said as she turned around, standing right in front of Pearl. Pearl stood still when Roxie wiped the dirt off of her forehead.   
“That’s better,” She said as she retracted her hand. They were nearly the same height, though she supposed Pearl was just a slight taller than her. There was a gentle expression on Pearl’s face. Roxie was captured by her stare, and by the moment. She couldn’t move. Pearl’s elegant fingers swept her forehead, pushing her golden locks off of her eyes. A small smile kindled on Pearl’s lips. Roxie stared slightly upwards at her and suddenly, felt how her heart started racing. She wasn’t expecting to see Pearl today and she certainly had no idea what was going on. She suddenly felt so small, even though their height difference was barely noticeable. Slowly, Pearl placed her hand from her forehead to her cheek. It slid feather lightly against her skin from her cheek and the side of her neck. Roxie felt her breath stop as Pearl leaned in for a kiss. Part of her was telling her to push her away. It was screaming ‘this is going way too fast and I feel dizzy and scared of intimacy’. Another part wanted her to take her whole. Her thoughts dissipated as she felt the soft lips on hers. They pressed against her, light and chaste. Her resistance melted away and she felt Pearl’s warm breath against her face. Her hands cradled her head and let go as Pearl pulled away slowly. Roxie’s lips were left parted after the peck as she stared at Pearl and the way her cheeks glowed with a blush. Pearl glanced around quickly and rubbed the back of her neck.

“I- I-,” She stuttered, but before she could form a coherent sentence Roxie tackled her into a hug and kissed her hungrily. She held her close and felt Pearl slump against her. They opened their mouths and breathed hard against the wet kiss. Roxie’s hands gripped the fabric of Pearl’s sweater desperately. Her eyes were closed this time and her heart was beating hard against her chest. She felt herself shake from the excitement and terror of what could come next. She didn’t want to let go. A moan escaped from her full lips against Pearl’s as Pearl’s hands moved to her back and the back of her neck.   
“Roxie,” She managed to breathe out amidst the snogging. Her tone sounded serious. Alarmed by this, Roxie pulled away and opened her eyes. Her whole face felt hot.   
“What?” She breathed heavily. Pearl retracted her arms and looked at her car oil stained hands.   
“I stained you.” 

It took a moment for that sentence to sink in for Roxie. When it finally dawned to her, she huffed out a chuckle and started laughing a breathless laughter.   
“I’m sorry,” Pearl said solemnly, “I forgot to wash my hands.”   
“Oh my god,” Roxie wheezed and leaned on Pearl’s shoulder.   
“And I think your soup is done.” Pearl reached under Roxie to turn the stove off. Roxie chuckled tiredly as she straightened herself.   
“Oh, Pearl,” She sighed and after she had recovered she poured her soup on a bowl and sank down on a chair at the kitchen table. Pearl sat down with her and leaned her chin against the palm of her hand. Her expression was worried as she watched Roxie.   
“You were shaking. Did I do something wrong?” Roxie blinked at her question and rose her hands in protest.  
“Absolutely not!” She said quickly, “You were amazing. It was probably the best kiss of my life. I’m just…” Roxie explained and let out a sigh, “I’m scared, you know.” Pearl seemed troubled by Roxie’s confession. She let out a defeated breath and looked down.   
“I’m sorry,” Pearl said.   
“I’m scared about what’s going to happen,” Roxie continued gently, taking spoonfuls of soup in between her sentences, “I’m scared that you’ll get hurt again. I’m scared because you’re immortal but I will die within the next eighty years. I’m scared because Greg told me to stay away from you. He said gems are dangerous and I believe him, but instead of heeding his advice, I’m doing the exact opposite. Everything is happening so fast. I can’t keep up.”  
“I understand,” Pearl said silently. Roxie could feel how she was tearing her own self-esteem down with scenarios that didn’t exist.   
“Pearl, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you,” Roxie said and took a final spoonful of soup, “I like you more than anything.” 

After her words, Pearl lifted her gaze on her and watched as Roxie put the bowl into the washing machine and drank a half glass of water. As Roxie turned around, Pearl stood up from the table and washed her hands by the sink. She dried her hands and turned to Roxie. There was a hint of a smile on her lips as she took Roxie’s hand into hers, caressing it carefully.   
“We might not know what’s going to happen, but I promise I’ll protect you.” Pearl’s eyes were determined, “This I swear.” Her words warmed Roxie’s heart. She looked down on their hands and slid a strand of hair behind her ear with her free hand.   
“Thank you,” Roxie smiled and then licked her lips, “Now, I need a shower because of you.”  
“Yes,” Pearl laughed, “You are dirty.” She let go of her hand smiling and Roxie walked past her to the bathroom. Roxie closed the door behind her and pulled her shirt over her head. As she turned it over in her hands she saw the oil stains in the back. Smiling in silence, she tossed her shirt into the laundry basket and undressed. 

The warm water was relaxing against her skin. The sounds of the droplets created a white noise that let Roxie’s mind wander freely. The soap that covered her body was slowly washed away before she turned the shower off and dried herself with a towel. Wrapping the towel around her, she walked out of the shower and glanced into the living room, where Pearl had settled down and watched TV with Hopper laying next to her. The sight made her smile. There was something so domestic and fulfilling about it, watching Pearl do something so human. Pearl’s head turned away from the TV as she looked at Roxie. Reassured by her gaze, Roxie smiled coyly as she walked to her. Her knees sunk into the softness of the couch as she straddled Pearl’s lap and sat against her thighs. Roxie pushed her gently to lean back with her hand and she pressed herself against her, feeling her their hearts beating in unison. Pearl swallowed hard and she hesitated to place her hands on Roxie’s hips. She was blushing teal blue from the neck up and turned her head toward Roxie as she pressed her lips on Pearl’s neck. A surprised gasp escaped Pearl and pressed her hand harder against Roxie’s back.

Roxie could tell she wasn’t used to this level of intimacy, it made her awkward and unsure. Pearl had taken a big step by gathering enough courage to kiss her. She’d likely known of Roxie’s hopeless crush on her for some time. It had made things easier for her. Roxie retracted her lips from her neck and faced her with lidded eyes. She studied Pearl’s eyes and felt her hand travel up her back through the fabric of the towel.   
“You’re soaking wet,” Pearl commented with an amused tone, but there was a hint of delight in it as well. She wiped Roxie’s wet locks over her shoulder and then placed her hand on her cheek.   
“Sorry,” Roxie chuckled and leaned her face against Pearl’s hand, “I’m impatient.”   
“I see that.” Pearl smiled. She was glowing from the inside. Something unusual to her - she was brimming with unadulterated joy. Pearl leaned in and kissed her with smiling lips. Roxie let out a breath against their kiss. It was easier this time. There was no worry or hesitation. It was just moving out of an impulse and feeling. Pearl moved her hands on Roxie’s hips and got up unsteadily from the couch. Roxie let out a high-pitched sound as she wrapped her arms tightly around Pearl’s neck. She felt how Pearl had trouble carrying her. Hopper was looking at the two of them cautiously and jumped off the sofa to avoid them. 

“I’m going to fall,” Roxie squealed and giggled, trying to hang from Pearl’s neck.   
“I’ve got it,” Pearl managed to utter and tightened her grip as she walked slowly to the bedroom. When she finally arrived at the bed she dropped Roxie down. Roxie sunk into the bed giggling. Her towel had unraveled and barely covered her naked body. Pearl laid down next to her and turned on her side to look at Roxie. Her eyes were relaxed on her, gazing at her from head to toe.  
“You’re beautiful,” Pearl murmured and held her hand on the back of Roxie’s head. Then she chuckled at a memory.  
“Do you remember? You said that when you met me at the temple.” Roxie smiled at the memory. It felt embarrassing to be remembering that.   
“It was adorable,” Pearl whispered and pressed her forehead against Roxie’s. She closed her eyes and took in the her warmth. Pearl moved closer and their legs moved against each other. Her thigh slid between Roxie’s legs, pressing against her and she bit her lip at the touch. Pearl’s eyes were on her and a playful, knowing smile curved on her lips.   
“Pearl,” Roxie moaned. Her voice was strained with excitement as Pearl’s fingers moved across her clit, giving it a light rub. She licked her lips as Roxie buckled her hips.  
“Pearl!” She pleaded with hot breaths against her face. Pearl felt Roxie’s hands slide inside her shirt. She explored the feeling of her small breasts with her hands. Pearl let her pull her shirt over her head and it fell across the bed on the floor. Roxie moved Pearl’s hands off of her as she climbed on top of her on her arms and legs. She licked her lips as she moved her hand into Pearl’s pants. She breathed heavily and helped her by pulling her pants down. Blood buzzed between Roxie’s ears as Pearl’s body jolted from her touch. Roxie glanced up at her for affirmation and Pearl nodded at her with her tongue on her upper lip. She started circling her tightly lipped slit in massaging movements. Pearl’s head pushed against the blanket and she panted with her mouth open. She opened her mouth and looked towards the window of the bedroom. 

“Roxie,” She breathed out. Her tone made Roxie stop on her tracks.   
“Your curtains are open.” Pearl’s eyes looked back at Roxie, who quickly got up from on top of her.   
“Shit,” She swore as she hurried to close them. She heard Pearl chuckling breathlessly. As she turned back, she noticed Pearl had slid under the sheets. She flipped a corner of the sheet over and beckoned Roxie to come to her. Roxie beamed as she climbed on the bed and was captured by Pearl’s embrace under the warm cover.


	7. The yellow card

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still an improving writer and English isn't my native language. I hope you'll take this into attention in any possible constructive criticism.  
> Comments are encouraged! Here is [my Tumblr blog](http://www.innocuous-demons.tumblr.com/) and here is a [A fanmix](http://8tracks.com/lunacy_core/love-songs-for-a-gem) inspired by the story.

Sunrays made their way through the window curtains in a late morning. The ringtone of Roxie’s mobile was playing it’s melody on the bedside table. Roxie turned on the bed and buried her face in the pillow.   
“I think you should take that,” She heard Pearl’s groggy voice say. She reached over Roxie to pick up the phone and placed it in front of Roxie on the bed. She grumbled as she took her phone and pressed the touch-screen. Roxie placed the phone on her ear slowly.   
“Yeah?”   
“Is Pearl in there?” She heard Steven’s familiar voice ask, “We need her on a mission.”   
“It’s for you,” Roxie said lazily and offered the phone to Pearl. She quickly sat up and answered the phone.   
“Morning, Steven!” She tried to sound awake.   
“Oh,” Pearl listened to the phone as she glanced at Roxie, who was barely aware of what was going on, “I’ll be right there.” Her voice sounded grim. It catched Roxie’s attention and she lifted her head to look at Pearl. She was dressing herself up quickly.   
“I need to go,” Roxie heard Pearl say.   
“Sounds serious,” Roxie hummed. Her voice was rough, “Are you okay?”   
“I’ll be fine. Sounds like another corrupt gem. It’s better if we take it out as fast as possible.” Pearl set Roxie’s phone down on the bed and walked to the door. She looked back at Roxie with an apologetic smile.   
“Be careful.” Pearl nodded at Roxie.   
“Don’t worry,” She chuckled at Roxie and then disappeared from the door. 

Roxie listened as Pearl rummaged through the hallway. A moment after the front door opened and closed, and the silence returned to the apartment. Roxie sighed and turned on her back. She stared at the ceiling and felt her hair poking everywhere. It felt strange to think that what happened yesterday was real. It felt like a dream. Roxie heard Hopper jog in and lick her hand that was hanging over the bed. She turned to look at him and caressed his head. Hopper’s big brown eyes watched her purposefully. It was easy for Roxie to tell what he wanted.   
“Let’s go for a walk, yeah?” She smiled as Hopper started wagging his tail excitedly and licking her hand.   
“Okay,” Sighing, she pushed herself up and started dressing up. Roxie pulled on dark grey jeans and red sweatshirt. She walked to the bathroom to fix her hair. She put it up on a long ponytail and combed her fringe evenly.   
“Let’s go, then,” Roxie hummed as she put on her winter jacket, scarf and gloves.

Outside air was cold and windy, but it wasn’t snowing anymore. Roxie felt the wind on her face as she walked with Hopper. She wasn’t enjoying it and by the looks of it, neither was Hopper. After half-way their usual route he started pulling strongly to get home faster. Roxie jogged past the other pedestrians and turned to her home street. The two of them raced to the front door. Hopper barked as he reached the door first and looked behind him as Roxie climbed up the stairs panting.   
“Don’t look at me like that,” Roxie mumbled as she unlocked the door and walked inside. 

As she was taking off her coat, her eyes focused on the picture frame on a wall. In the picture there was an old couple, a man sitting in a wheelchair and a woman behind him. The man wore a black suit and sunglasses and was hitting the air with his fist with a big grin on his face. The woman wore a beautiful red dress and smiled sweetly at the camera. Roxie’s grandparents. Her heart ached as she looked at her grandfather. She was reminded that she needed to clean an heirloom of his. It had gotten dirty on her last training session. Snapped back to reality by the thought, she quickly shook off her boots and removed Hopper’s leash. She hurried to her bedroom and sunk on her knees, reaching under the bed for a large leather box. It took her all of her upper body power to pull it out. Roxie looked down on the box and got up to get cleaning supplies from the kitchen. As she came back to it, she wiped the top of the box off of dust and opened it carefully. Inside, laid a large semi automatic, twelve caliber British sniper rifle with a scope. Roxie took it on her lap scrubbed off the dirt from the handle. She should have done this earlier, she thought. What would her grandfather say if she saw the rifle in such a condition? 

A bright ring of the doorbell tore the silence. Roxie blinked and glanced into the hallway. Slowly, she put the rifle back into the case and got on her feet. Her socks papped against the wooden floor as she dragged her feet to the door and placed her hand into the handle. Hopper barked. Suddenly, she stopped. Her intuition felt wrong. She frowned in confusion at the sudden feeling and gazed into the peephole of the door. There were three people outside the door. One of them was strikingly tall with a hourglass figure, her skin had a very light green hue to it. Another lady was small and fragile with iridescent pink skin. The third one had a pentagon shaped gem on her forehead. It was bright orange, as was her skin, just a shade darker. Roxie could feel her heart skip a beat. Gems. But they weren’t The crystal gems. So who were they? They didn’t look corrupt, like the one in the woods. Roxie heavily doubted a corrupt gem would just walk to her door in a broad daylight anyway. Her heart started racing. This could only mean trouble. Roxie started to hyperventilate and she grabbed Hopper in her arms and brought him to the kitchen. She let Hopper down and walked out of the kitchen, closing the door between them. He should be safe. She felt like she was walking in a nightmare. Her adrenaline rush made her body feel cold. 

Roxie grabbed the sniper rifle and loaded it up. She stood at the end of the hallway, as far away from the door as she could.  
“Hello? We know you’re in there,” A sharp voice called out through the door.   
“Open up! We just want to talk.”   
“Bullshit,” Roxie hissed, “There is nothing you’d want from me!”   
“Chrys, you know what to do,” The sharp voice said with a lazy tone and suddenly, there was a loud crash. The big gem’s fist crashed through the door, breaking the lock. Roxie tried to minimize the shaking of her hands as she aimed her rifle at the trespassers.   
“Thank you,” The gem with a gem on her forehead spoke.   
“Look out!” The pink woman called out and jumped in front of the others. Roxie reacted quickly and pulled the trigger. A shot echoed in the apartment and drowned Hopper’s barking underneath it. The pink gem was shot right in between her eyes and she lost her form into a cloud of smoke. Her solid pink and orange shaded gem clinked against the wooden floor. 

“Coral!” The big gem, Chrys, screamed in horror, “She got Coral!”   
“Stand back, or you’ll meet her fate!” Roxie warned as she readied her weapon. The orange gem seemed unfazed by what was happening. If anything, her eyes seemed impressed by Roxie’s handiwork. Chrys, however, was filled with rage. She moved impossibly fast. Her charge took Roxie by surprise and she pulled the trigger. It hit Chrys on the shoulder, but it didn’t slow her down. Her large hands twisted the sniper rifle out of Roxie’s hands and another of her hands plummeted a fist at Roxie’s face. She hit her head against the wall at the power of the punch and felt her vision go white. She collapsed on her knees.   
“Citrine! I’ve got her!” Chrys cheered as she gripped Roxie and lifted her in the air.   
“Good. Now, don’t kill her and let’s get out of here.” Citrine picked up Coral’s gem from the floor and turned to walk out.  
“She never stood a chance,” Chrys laughed and swung Roxie on her shoulder. Roxie felt immense pain on her head. Her vision went blurry. In and out, white ridges of colour blocked her vision. When they walked out into the cold outside air, she heard the footsteps echo in her head. Desperately, she tried to hang on to every shred of reality, but it was too much. Her consciousness finally gave in and she sunk into a mindless darkness. 

Next time Roxie was aware, she felt cold steel around her arms and waist. She was slumped forward, strands of hair covering her face. A bright light. It was warm. Her head was throbbing painfully and her body felt heavy. She had no strength to lift her head. Her eyes parted open and she breathed in heavily. Where was she? Flickers of colourful lights ran across her vision. She let out a pained grunt.   
“But where are they? Doesn’t that make you wonder?” She heard distant words from somewhere close by.   
“It’s not our mission. We’re not wasting time on that.”   
“But if we found them and they know something-”  
“No. Now, silence.” There was a sigh and a airy blow as some sort of a doorway closed. Footsteps approached Roxie’s location. She braced herself. 

Silently, the orange gem, Citrine, stood in front of Roxie and crouched down. She snapped her fingers in front of her face. The sound felt invading in her ears and she twitched in reaction.   
“Wake up,” Her words felt like a drill in her brain.   
“Holy fuck,” Roxie managed to groan, “You sound annoying.”   
“Ah, good, you’re conscious, at last.” Roxie felt Citrine’s hand on her chin and she lifted her face up at her with her hand.   
“How fascinating. I was wrong about you, little Earthling. I thought you were just a pet for these Crystal gems, but you managed to take out one of us. Impressive work, even if futile, in the long run.” Citrine spoke in an almost friendly tone. Roxie tried to turn her head away but her grip prevented her from doing so. She didn’t feel like putting up with this. Part of her knew that it would have been the best to just play along and do what they wanted, so she could get out with minimal injuries, but she was far too stubborn for a strategy like that. There was no guarantee that they wouldn’t kill her when they would be done with her, so she figured she might as well put up a fight before it was all over. 

“That good cop bullshit isn’t going to work on me, asshole,” Roxie hissed. Her cheek felt swollen. It made it more difficult to talk.   
“I don’t understand what you’re saying, but I don’t appreciate your tone,” Citrine said and let go of Roxie’s chin. She leaned her hands on her knees as she watched Roxie with great curiosity.   
“So, tell me. You’ve been to their ‘temple’. What use do they have for the two little humans, the ones with dark hairs? Are they their pets too?”  
“Fuck you.” Citrine let out a frustrated sigh at Roxie’s response.   
“You’re making this unnecessarily inconvenient, you know,” She said and straightened herself, “But as you wish.” Citrine turned towards the hall and called out:   
“Chrysocolla! Take the human to the room.”   
“Of course.”   
“But remember, we need her conscious.” 

Chrys walked around the corner and approached Roxie. The steel bindings detached from the wall and Chrys hung Roxie over her shoulder. She tried to struggle, but it was for naught. Chrys walked past a few sliding doors. The hallways were white and sterile with lights inside the walls. The corners were round and there were many of them. They arrived into a room that seemed just like the hallways. A sliding door behind them hummed as it locked into a close. Chrys dropped Roxie to the floor. She hit her back to the floor and let out a pained sound. Roxie flung herself over on her stomach and tried to kick herself away from Chrys but she grabbed her leg and pulled her back to her. Chrys opened her bindings and left them lying on the floor as she cracked her knuckles. Meanwhile, Roxie staggered on her feet and took quick steps to the corner of the room.   
“Let’s see how arrogant you get without your toys,” Chrys smirked and and charged at Roxie. She quickly jumped to the side, managing to avoid Chrys’ hit. She chased her around the room. She was playing around. Like cat and mouse. The mouse had no real way to beat the cat. Her body mass and strength was significantly more powerful than Roxie’s. She could have easily catched her, but she was tiring her down instead. After a couple more dodges, Chrys gripped Roxie’s arm and tackled her to the ground. A strong punch was delivered on her lover stomach. Roxie groaned and curled up in pain. Tormenting blows hit her hips and stomach in a steady rhythm. They radiated across her body. Chrys gripped Roxie’s body and threw her across the room. Her back collided with the wall. Roxie felt blood in her mouth at the collision. Her body fell down on the floor face first. Her arms shook violently as she tried to pull herself up, but she was too weak. Her chest crashed at the ground and she turned her head in agony. Chrys gripped her again. There was no escape. She flopped Roxie over like a doll and sat on top of her. A series of fast punches were delivered to her hips and stomach. Then one hit her in the nose. 

“Gross,” Chrys growled as she turned her fist around in front of her eyes. It was smeared with Roxie’s blood. Roxie whimpered under her. Adrenaline surged within her. She couldn’t feel the entirety of the damage that was done to her body. Then she turned her head and puked up blood on the floor. Chrys scoffed with disgust and gripped the steel bindings from the floor and sealed Roxie back inside it. Roxie felt dizzy from all the pain in her body as Chrys carried her to a hallway that looked different from all the others. Chrys dropped her down in front of a some sort of a steel hatch and tried to hit away the blood from her hands. Her hands had smeared on Roxie’s outfit. Her nose was bleeding as well as a trail of blood run down from her mouth. 

“Good work, Chrys,” She heard Citrine compliment as she arrived with a hum of a sliding door. She turned Roxie over and examined her.   
“Can you hear me, human?” Citrine asked and Roxie met her eyes. There was desperate defiance in them.   
“I’m not telling you shit,” She whispered. Her voice was weak and sore. Her golden locks hung on her bloodied face.  
“That’s fine. It was unrelated to the mission, anyway. This, however, is important, so listen well.” Citrine paused and watched Roxie intently, then began to speak:   
“Your task is to deliver a message to The crystal gems. A part of that - the part where you are gravely injured, as you are - is crucial, as well. Now, are you ready to memorize your message?”   
“And what if I don’t?” Roxie provoked her.   
“We will know,” Citrine said calmly, “We have ways. If you do not complete your task, perhaps your precious Pearl will face her fate earlier than planned.” Citrine chuckled after her solemn words and glanced towards Chrys.   
“See what I did there? Her precious Pearl. It’s, like, she owns her… but she doesn’t, because she’s human, right?” Chrys shook her head at Citrine, making her look back at Roxie and she cleared her throat.  
“Anyway, your message. Are you ready?” Roxie gave her a nod as she death stared Citrine’s yellow eyes.   
“As you land, you tell them: ‘The yellow diamond has determined your fate. Destroying the cluster was a great mistake. You will answer for your crimes against the Homeworld. We will be coming.’” Citrine looked down on Roxie proudly and started detaching the steel bindings from her.   
“The Homeworld can suck my big, fat cock,” Roxie taunted her.   
“What?” Citrine glanced at Chrys in confusion.   
“Do humans have…?” Chrys scoffed disapprovingly at Citrine in response with her arms crossed.   
“Just drop her already,” She said impatiently and pulled the lever to open the hatch. The hatch opened loudly and cold air invaded Roxie’s skin.  
“Remember your message,” Citrine yelled over the sound of the engine. Then, Chrys gave Roxie’s body a push and it fell down from the hovering spaceship. Midair, Roxie stared at how the space ship disappeared into the thin air as the hatch closed. She couldn’t believe her eyes. 

The collision on the ground of the snowy beach was more agonizing than the punches she had received earlier. A gut wrenching scream escaped as she flopped on her stomach. Her body was caving in. She couldn’t feel or move her legs. Panting the cold air in and out her lungs Roxie lifted her head and saw the beach house about ten feet away from her. She pushed herself forward in the sand soaked snow. A desperate whimper escaped her. Grinding her teeth through the pain she pushed herself forward. Pictured flashed in her head. Her grandfather taking her hand and telling her ‘Roxie, I might be stuck in this wheelchair, but believe me when I say I would stand up and run for you if I had to. But someday I won’t be here to do that for you. You’ll have to learn to fight to live. I know life can’t beat a brave heart like yours down.’

A sob escaped Roxie. She pulled herself forward one last time and reached the stairs to the beach house. Why was she remembering this now? Could he have been with her, cheering her on? Roxie placed her hand on the step of the stairs and tried to push herself up. The wood scraped her body and she lied down on the first step. She was running on fumes. Her body was shaking violently out of coldness and exhaustion. Everything hurt, her whole body ached.   
“Help!” Roxie yelled out weakly, “Anybody!” Another pained sob sounded from her. She couldn’t hold her head up any longer. It laid against the wooden stairs. She felt woozy. She tasted the flavour of metal from the blood in her mouth. 

The beach house door opened and a young boy walked out. Steven looked down the stairs and his blood seemed to run from his face as she spotted her.   
“Roxie!” Steven gasped and ran down the stairs. He reached for her and then looked at his hands, noticing the blood.   
“What happened?” He asked in panicked confusion. Roxie was unable to answer. She started coughing and coughed up blood. Droplets stained the stair and Steven looked at her in desperation.   
“Hold on!” He stammered and stepped over her, “Where does it hurt?” Roxie groaned and forced herself to turn around and pointed at her stomach.   
“I can’t… feel my legs,” Her voice was frail and her face looked anemic.   
“Okay,” The boy said with determination and licked his hand and then pulled Roxie’s stained shirt up slightly, placing his hand on her hip. Steven squeezed his eyes closed and tried to concentrate. 

Nothing happened.   
“It’s not working!” He said hopelessly as he let go. A realization dawned to Roxie. He was trying to heal her. She swallowed her blood and parted her lips, watching as the boy took out his phone and dialed an emergency number.  
“Oh, Steven,” She sighed and her shaking hand took a hold of the sleeve of his shirt. Her dark eyes were watching her as he talked to the emergency line. Roxie felt like she was floating. She was losing touch of her injured body. She hated that the kid had to see her like this. She wanted to spare him of the shock, but it was too late. He was handling it well. He was panicked but he had control in his actions. Time started to feel unreal. Whiteness was taking over her vision.   
“Garnet! Amethyst! Pearl!” Steven called out. Roxie could feel him sit down on the stairway. He held Roxie’s head in his small lap. She closed her eyes. 

She wasn’t aware of the time any longer. When she opened her eyes again, the gems were helping the paramedics lift her on the bars. Roxie saw her bloody shaking hand reach for Pearl. She was looking at her. Concern, fear. It flooded her. She tried to speak. She was sure her mouth was moving, but she couldn’t hear herself. Then they pushed her into the ambulance. The paramedic next to her had red curls. She spoke something, but Roxie couldn’t tell what it was. Her eyes felt heavy. They closed the doors and the humming of the car lulled Roxie into a sleepless sleep.


	8. Roses for Roxie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still an improving writer and English isn't my native language. I hope you'll take this into attention in any possible constructive criticism.  
> Comments are encouraged! Here is [my Tumblr blog](http://www.innocuous-demons.tumblr.com/) and here is a [A fanmix](http://8tracks.com/lunacy_core/love-songs-for-a-gem) inspired by the story.

Hands touched her cheeks. They made patting motions, hitting the skin of her face gently. Roxie opened up her eyes and saw a male nurse hunched over her. He was blocking the bright light from hitting her eyes.  
“Your operation room is being prepared,” He informed her and inspected her eyes.   
“You are under a lot of pain killers right now. How are you feeling?” 

It took a moment for Roxie to gather herself. She looked around her. A hospital hallway. A lot of noise in her ears. Her entire body felt numb. She felt like she was just a floating head. The surroundings were so white and sterile that she almost felt like she was back in the space ship. It was impossibly relieving to know she was here, instead, being taken care of. She thought of the last images she’d seen of Pearl. Her worried face gave her a small panic. She hadn’t told The crystal gems about the threat they were facing. She had been too busy trying to survive. She had to tell them. Who knew how soon they would attack?

“Pearl,” She breathed and tried to lift her head. The nurse gently held her head down.   
“Take it easy,” He said, gaining a mildly annoyed gaze from Roxie.   
“Your friends are waiting in the waiting room. I can make an exception for you and call them in before your operation,” He suggested.   
“Please,” Roxie managed to say, it sounded more desperate than she intended. She watched as the nurse departed. He walked to the end of the hallway and disappeared around the corner. She breathed unevenly, gazing around. How long would the operation take? Would she be ever able to walk again? A small smile appeared on her lips. It was ironic, if she was completely honest. If she ended up like her dear grandfather, in a wheelchair. She would have to move out of her apartment. She would have to spend her savings on medical bills. 

She wondered if Hopper was okay. The gunshots must have startled the neighbours. If they called the police, she would have to explain everything. How could she explain alien abduction? They’d think her insane. Wonderful. If she’d went in quietly, she probably wouldn’t be in as much trouble. Roxie’s spirits lifted when she saw the gems at the end of the hallway. Pearl was hurrying in front of them and gained disapproving looks from some of the nurses.   
“Pearl!” Roxie exclaimed. Her voice was dry and sore.   
“Oh my stars!” Pearl gasped as she arrived to Roxie. Roxie felt her warm hands cradle hers.   
“What happened to you?” Pearl asked. Roxie looked at her eyes and felt the abundance of confusion and worry. Roxie cleared her throat before she spoke:   
“Homeworld gems.” Her simple answer had a great impact on the gems. Garnet, Steven and Amethyst just made it to her, but they heard her words. They looked at each other with grave expressions.   
“In a spaceship?” Steven asked. Roxie nodded at him and then looked back at Pearl.   
“They wanted to send a message,” Roxie squeezed Pearl’s hand and continued, “They said what you did with the cluster was a mistake. They said: ‘Yellow diamond has determined your fate, you will answer for your crimes against the Homeworld and they will be coming.’” 

Pearl watched her with tears springing into her eyes. She buried her face against Roxie’s chest and sobbed.   
“I’m so sorry,” She cried. Roxie felt her aching in her chest. She lifted her shaking hand to place it against Pearl’s hair, “I couldn’t protect you. It’s all my fault. You could be dead and it would be all on me.” Roxie hushed her gently and caressed her peachy soft hair. She watched as the other gems looked at each other with concerned looks. They hadn’t heard from yellow diamond for years.  
“It’s not your fault,” She whispered gently, “You couldn’t have known.” Pearl sniffed and lifted her head to look at Roxie. Her expression shifted to anger.   
“I know now. I’ll never let them touch you again,” She assured her. The determination in Pearl’s eyes made Roxie smile proud with affection.   
“Yes, ma’m,” Roxie chuckled but the chuckle changed into a coughing fit and blood surged into her mouth. Taste of metal invaded her mouth. She wiped blood on her sleeve and turned to look at Steven.   
“Steven, come here,” Roxie spoke hurriedly and hung her arm over the hospital bed. He stepped next to Pearl and looked up with his beautiful large eyes. Roxie sunk her fingers into his puffy hair and caressed his head.   
“Thank you, Steven.” Her words were soft and touched, “Listen, whatever happens, I want you to know you’re my hero.” Roxie smiled and watched Pearl pat Steven’s head as he blushed and looked away, embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled.   
“Gosh, thanks.”  
“You’re the bravest boy I know,” Roxie said and pulled her hand back on her side.   
“I just hope you’ll get better soon,” Steven sighed as he stared at the hospital floor.   
“I’ll do my best,” Roxie hummed.  
“And we’ll do the rest!” Steven exclaimed with stars in his eyes. 

“Speaking of which, I have a favor to ask,” Roxie told the gems remembering the condition of her apartment, “If you could, could you take care of Hopper for me? He must have gotten really scared at all the gunshots. If he’s not at my house, he could be at my neighbors or the local shelter.” Roxie glanced down on Steven after her words.   
“Steven, I trust your expertise on animals to take good care of him.” He nodded at her excitedly.   
“There is another thing,” Roxie licked her dry lips, “If you could find my sniper rifle in my apartment, I would be grateful. It’s very important to me.”   
“We will look for them for you,” Pearl promised as she wiped Roxie’s hair off of her face. Roxie smiled at her. She knew she could trust the gems to settle things. It was relieving to know Hopper wouldn’t be alone.

The nurse she’d met a moment earlier hurried to them with loud footsteps. Pearl and Steven stepped away to give him space.  
“All right. We’re ready for the procedure. I’m afraid your friends will have to visit later.”  
Pearl squeezed Roxie’s hand one final time. Then, the nurse pushed the hospital bed forward on the hallway. Roxie lifted her head and saw the last glimpse of Pearl and the others before she disappeared into an operation room. 

The gems started slowly walking out of the hospital. Pearl looked at Amethyst and Garnet nervously. She was afraid they were going to comment on how close she had gotten with the human, but to her relief the two of them were too hung up on the news that there was going to be another contact with the Homeworld.   
“This isn’t good,” Amethyst said, “How big do you think it’s going to be?”   
“This is what we’ve been training for,” Said Garnet, “We are ready, we can resist them.”   
“Perhaps it’s just a formality? If they were truly set on on wiping us out, they would have hit us already, no?” Pearl suggested optimistically. The others mumbled in doubt about it.   
“We have to get Peridot back to the temple,” Said Steven with a worried tone, “She’ll be in danger, too, if they come.”   
“Either way, we must be ready when the time comes. And we might need Peridot’s help again,” Garnet told the others.

The time in the hospital passed slowly. Roxie was unconscious during her operation and slept for an entire day after. She got into a room with a little girl who had broken her leg and an old man who seemed to be either sleeping or doing his word puzzles. Roxie woke up in her hospital bed. Her area was covered with room dividers and she couldn’t see the other patients, other than hearing the old man’s snoring. She wasn’t allowed to stand. Not that she could, as it turned out. Her hip joints were so damaged they had to perform a hip replacement for her. A successful operation assured she could be able to walk again, but she was going to need a lot of physiotherapy. Additionally, she had to go through multiple tests for her internal bleeding and blunt trauma. She received injections and medication, which the nurses brought to her every day.

It was time for another injection, Roxie supposed, as the familiar nurse came into the room.   
“Afternoon, Miss Ford,” The nurse greeted her as he closed the divider behind him.   
“Hey,” Roxie said, still groggy from sleep. She tugged her IV line.  
“It’s time for your medication,” He informed as he pulled a tray with a needle, disinfectants, cotton pads, plasters and a bloodpack in front of him. He patted a wet pad against her shoulder and sunk a needle into her skin. Roxie breathed in as the mildly uncomfortable sting pained her arm before the nurse pulled the needle away. Patting her skin with disinfectant, he glanced at Roxie’s eyes. His eyes were a deep chocolate brown.  
“How are you feeling?”   
“I’m fine,” She mumbled.   
“You never told what happened to you to come in the way you did.” Oh right, Roxie thought, he was trying to strike up a conversation. Again. She’d noticed him making puppy eyes at her the moment she’d regained her consciousness from the first operation.   
“That’s because I don’t want to talk about it,” She said simply.   
“I’m sorry,” He said. He started to change the bloodpack to Roxie’s IV line.  
“I didn’t mean to be nosy. There was just something about you… I was curious.” He trailed off. Then, when he was done, he turned towards Roxie. He looked down with a smile on his face.   
“I’m Chris, by the way.” She didn’t return her smile. Her eyes traveled on the name tag on his nurse outfit.   
“I see that,” She said. Chris chuckled and blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.   
“Oh, sorry.”   
“Look, Chris,” Roxie sighed and leaned her head against her pillow. She closed her eyes and spoke in a bored tone, “I know what you want, but I need to tell you something.”  
Chris leant closer.   
“I’m gay,” Roxie said and opened her eyes, meeting Chis’, “I’m not into you.”   
“What? How?” He stammered as he straightened. He was rubbing his neck again out of embarrassment, “Was I that obvious? I’m so sorry, that was unprofessional. I mean, I understand.”   
“It’s fine. I’m just saving your time,” Roxie watched as Chris gathered his things and pulled the tray cart with him.   
“Let’s just pretend this conversation didn’t happen,” Chris said awkwardly smiling and opened the divider.   
“That’s fine, too.” Roxie watched as he left with a hurry, closing the divider after him. She felt relieved to be left alone. Sighing, she tilted her head to look at the clock. She had an hour before visiting time would start. She closed her eyes and let herself relax, hoping that someone would come to see her. 

An hour and a half later, her wish came true, but not exactly in the form that she thought. The divider was opened and Greg walked in with his graying hair and a puffy brown winter jacket. Roxie let out a loud sigh and wiped the corner of her eye with her wrist.   
“All right,” She said defensively and braced herself, “Let’s hear it. Let’s hear the ‘I told you so’s’.” Greg stood next to her bed and smiled at her with pity.   
“Hey, I’m not here for that,” He said softly and closed his tired eyes with a sigh. He put his hand inside his jacket and watched Roxie with his eyebrows raised.   
“Do you like chocolate?” He asked. Roxie stared at him a moment in silence. She nodded. She felt ashamed for her reaction of seeing Greg. Perhaps she was too used to people being hard on her.   
“Here,” Greg said and pulled a chocolate bar from his jacket, “I know the hospital food isn’t the best. Maybe a little treat will lift your mood.” Roxie cradled the chocolate bar in her hands. She felt disbelief. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed this. Not the sweets, but random acts of kindness. A bright smile appeared on her face as she looked up at Greg.  
“Thank you,” Her voice wavered.   
“Heh, it’s nothing,” He shrugged.  
“I see Steven takes after his father.” Roxie’s words made Greg give a nervous chuckle and he rubbed the back of his head.   
“Gosh, yeah, he’s a good kid…” He trailed off and then coughed into his fist, “I have to admit, the last time we talked, I didn’t expect to see you in a hospital the next time.”   
“Oh well. I hear that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Roxie hummed and lifted the corner of her mouth, glancing away.   
“Anyway,” Greg paused and his gaze traveled. He seemed a bit awkward about all this, “Pearl told me about the two of you, you know. I just wanted you to know I’m happy for you. She asked me for advice, can you believe that? Out of all people.” Roxie looked back at Greg and smiled. She lifted her eyebrow.   
“Why not? I bet you have plenty of age old wisdom in you.” Greg laughed deep from his belly.   
“Oh, sure,” He said with a mixture of his laughter in his voice.

When Roxie started eating the chocolate bar, she noticed the divider being pulled aside. She felt her heart jump in joy as she saw who appeared behind it.   
“Pearl!” She exclaimed as she saw Pearl walk in with a bouquet of roses. She smiled serenely as she placed the roses on Roxie’s hospital bed table and then leaned in for a hug. Roxie moved her arms carefully around her. She felt how Pearl pressed her lips against hers. The kiss was warm and yearning. Pearl’s hand ran through her long hair.   
“You’re holding back,” Pearl said teasingly as she broke the kiss. Roxie heard Greg clear his throat. She grinned at Pearl.   
“We’re not alone.” Roxie chuckled at her and playfully pushed her away.   
“I can go wait in the hallway if you guys need some privacy,” Greg suggested with hesitation.  
“No, it’s fine, Greg. You may stay,” Pearl insisted. She arranged the flowers on the pot and glanced at Roxie.   
“Now, I haven’t heard anything about your condition. How are you doing, Roxie?” Roxie let out a sigh at the question and looked at her hands.   
“The doctors say I’ll need a few weeks to a month before I’ll be able to walk again. Otherwise, I feel fine.”   
“Sounds like a positive estimate,” Pearl said, visibly pleased with the news.   
“Do I dare to ask what happened?” Greg asked in doubt as he sat down on the chair next to the bed and opened his jacket.   
“Homeworld gems dragged me out of my house, but not before I took one of them out. They wanted to send a message to The crystal gems,” Roxie explained to him and felt Pearl caress her hands.   
“And they did this to you? Unbelievable,” Greg hummed in thought about what she said.   
“Unforgivable,” Pearl added and nodded, “But I’m glad for your recovery. Oh, we found Hopper at your neighbor’s. They sent greetings to you. Steven is taking care of him, as he promised.” Roxie nodded in response. She was going to have to come up with a story for the neighbors. She squeezed Pearl’s hands into her own.   
“What about my sniper rifle?”   
“Your sniper rifle?” Greg interrupted with an amused surprise, “Normal people don’t have those just laying around, you know.” Roxie grinned at him.   
“What can I say? It’s a family tradition.”   
“What kind of family is that?” Roxie laughed at Greg’s shock. Their families must have been very different.  
“We have it at the temple,” Pearl said assuredly, “Oh, but I digress, I’m very happy she’s able to protect herself. Even though, perhaps I should teach you swordfighting in case you run out of bullets.” Roxie shrugged in agreement.  
“Bullets are expensive.” 

Greg let out a sigh and leaned against his thighs.   
“You guys are weird,” He shook his head and got up from his chair. Roxie turned her head to look at him questioningly.   
“I’m going to get a coffee at the cafeteria, if you don’t mind. The visiting time is almost over, anyhow. I’ll wait for you there, Pearl,” Said Greg. He walked past the divider and disappeared behind it. Roxie looked after him in silence and finished eating her chocolate bar. She turned to watch the flowers Pearl had brought her.  
“Roses, huh?” Roxie smiled knowingly at Pearl, who blushed slightly.   
“You know me,” She said and played with her fingers nervously. Roxie watched her. Pearl was anxious. But why? Was she scared that Roxie would suddenly look down on her continuing obsession with Rose? Was she afraid Roxie would be expecting her to forget Rose completely out of a sudden?   
“Hey,” Roxie said gently and reached for Pearl’s hands, “You don’t need to be ashamed. I understand. These roses are beautiful. Thank you.” A small relief washed over Pearl. Roxie could see her demeanor change. Pearl’s blue eyes teared up and she leaned to hug Roxie. She was smiling. Their cheeks brushed against each other.   
“Thank you,” She said.


	9. Kinship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for the long wait! Here is the final chapter of Love and Loss. I hope you enjoyed Roxie's story. It has now come to an end. This chapter has been posted during the first 2016 Steven Bomb, just after "It Could Have Been Great" and just before "Message Received".
> 
> Here is a drawing I have made of [Citrine](http://innocuous-demons.tumblr.com/post/134982565494/its-been-ages-since-i-drew-something-so-i-drew-a).
> 
> I'm still an improving writer and English isn't my native language. I hope you'll take this into attention in any possible constructive criticism.  
> Comments are encouraged! Here is [my Tumblr blog](http://www.innocuous-demons.tumblr.com/) and here is a [A fanmix](http://8tracks.com/lunacy_core/love-songs-for-a-gem) inspired by the story.

A wheelchair creaked under her as she pushed herself forward in the hospital hallway. Her hands gripped the metal of the wheelchair and made it move. It had been relatively easy to learn how to move with a wheelchair but it definitely required some hand power. Roxie imagined herself having big arm muscles after sitting in a wheelchair for a year. She smiled in amusement at the image in her head. Fortunately for her, she didn’t have to stay in a wheelchair that long. Technically, she could already walk, but it was too much of a strain on her healing bones and a risk to do that full-time. So there she was, sitting and looking up at everyone who wasn’t. Her hands gripped the leather bag on her lap.

Roxie was being released today. She was thrilled to see something else than sterile hospital walls. Her hands ached from trying to move with her wheelchair as fast as she could. Roxie arrived at the end of a hallway. A lot of people were sitting in the waiting room, reading magazines and on their phones. Greg had a van, so he had promised to bring Roxie from the hospital. Roxie’s own home wasn’t wheelchair accessible but the gems had suggested that Roxie could stay at their house as long as she needed a wheelchair. She looked around. There were several old men, and a family of two children and their mother. At the corner of the room her gaze stopped at a man with a scruffy brown hair and a beard.  
“Greg!” Roxie called out and pushed herself forward. Greg’s head rose up and he grinned as he hurried to Roxie.  
“There you are!” He said, “I was wondering when they’d let you go.”  
“They just wouldn’t stop talking,” Roxie chuckled. She felt Greg pat her shoulder.  
“So, are you ready to head out?”  
“Hell yeah!” Roxie said enthusiastically and hit the rim of the wheelchair with her fist.  
“Take it easy now,” Greg smiled as he started pushing Roxie on her wheelchair through the entrance doors. 

Afternoon sun warmed her face as she arrived outside. She watched the thin layer of snow underneath her wheels. Silent creaking of the wheels could be heard as Greg pushed her down the hill into a parking lot. Roxie could recognize Greg’s van from far away. 

“You know, I was going to come to get you with Pearl but no one answered the phone so I came by myself,” Greg spoke thoughtfully, but then lightheartedly added, “Not that that is unusual.” The gems were often busy, Roxie supposed. She turned her head slightly to glance behind her at Greg.  
“They don’t return your calls?” She inquired.  
“Yeah,” Greg dragged out the word, “Occasionally but you must know they’re not the most reachable people in the world.” It was true, they weren’t, but they were trying their best. Roxie shrugged. As they arrived to the van Greg carefully helped Roxie to stand up from the wheelchair. Roxie walked to the car holding her bag in her arms and leaned against it and watched as Greg loaded the wheelchair inside the van. She walked with slow steps to the passenger seat and lifted herself up on the chair. There was a strange pressure in her hips. Probably still from the treatment, Roxie supposed. The door shut with a hollow click and Greg huffed as he climbed into the driver’s seat. As he turned the key, the car revved to life. Roxie listened to the hum of the old car as she stared outside in silence. 

It was true she didn’t know Greg very well - she’d only met him two weeks ago - but there was no discomfort in their silences. Roxie had to admit she wasn’t the most trusting person when it came down to trusting the opposite sex, but there was something comforting about such a simple, well-meaning man like Greg Universe. Part of him reminded of her dear grandfather, Cale. It was something subtle. The way he never seemed to give up. The way he was always ready to help people in need. The way he made jokes to make a terrible situation better. Roxie felt her eyelids getting heavier as she was lost in her thoughts. She was sitting lazily in the car seat. Her face was facing down and she felt her eyes slowly shut. Her thoughts were becoming nonsense and then she nodded off.

Cale was wearing a black trench coat. They were in a grocery store, at the fruits aisle. He looked around for hidden cameras and then, when he was convinced there were none pointing at his direction, he slipped an orange inside his jacket.  
“What are you doing?” Roxie asked uncomfortably.  
“What does it look like, darling?” He grinned.  
“That’s illegal,” Roxie said.  
“There are worse things that are, in fact, legal, my dear. Besides, I deserve a few free fruits for my service in the army.”  
“Oh, okay.”  
“Roxie, Roxie, are you okay?” A disembodied voice said.  
“I’m with my grandpa,” Roxie explained and looked around. She couldn’t see anyone there. Sudden blur was around her, like smoke. She saw fire approaching. It burned her face.

Greg gripped Roxie’s shoulder and shook her awake gently. Roxie jumped up and gasped in shock awakening.  
“Hey. Are you feeling okay?” Greg sounded worried. It took a moment for Roxie to gather herself. She looked at Greg and nodded.  
“Sorry, I fell asleep,” Roxie yawned and wiped lazy tears from the corner of her eyes.  
“You said you were with your grandpa, in your sleep,” Greg grinned. He didn’t look at Roxie, but concentrated on driving. Roxie let out a nervous laugh. She wished she would stop talking in her sleep. She leaned against the passenger seat and ran her fingers through her straight hair.  
“Maybe the pain killers are still affecting me,” Roxie mused and opened the glove compartment, there were CD disks inside it. Curiously, she picked one of the CDs and glanced at Greg.  
“May I?” She asked, about to put the CD into the reader.  
“Ehh…” Greg hesitated. He glanced at the CD and huffed out a breath.  
“Go ahead, I guess.” He was embarrassed. Roxie watched him. What for? The CD glistened in rainbow colors in the sunlight. She slid it inside the reader under the radio and pressed play. What she heard next, made her realize why Greg was so hesitant. Her eyes widened in surprise.  
  
_I know I’m not that tall,_  
_I know I’m not that smart,_  
_But let me drive my van into your heart._  
  
“That’s you!” She exclaimed, “That’s your voice.” Roxie was pointing at the CD player as she looked at Greg.  
“You sound wonderful!” She giggled and clapped her hands as the song ended. Greg smiled meekly and looked away. The next song started playing. Roxie listened in concentration and kept glancing at Greg.  
“Greg, why did you stop?” She questioned.  
“Manager was an ass. It’s a long story, really,” Greg said. He was driving on sand and snow now. They were almost at the gems’ house. Roxie sighed and pressed a button that pushed the CD out of the reader. She put it back into the glove compartment.  
“I could help you start up again,” Roxie offered, “I have enough business knowledge to have it done.”  
“Heh,” Greg hummed as he side-eyed her, “Thanks, buddy, but that part of my life is in the past now.” Slightly disappointed in his words, Roxie watched him and shrugged in defeat.  
“I’ll be here if you change your mind.” 

The whirr of the car came to a halt as Greg parked close to the porch of the house. Roxie looked up at the house and tugged a strand of hair behind her ear.  
“Do you think they are home?” She inquired and gained a shrug from Greg.  
“No worries, though, I have a spare key,” Greg said, “Wait here.” He opened the door and exited the vehicle. Roxie watched as the door closed and sat there, in silence. She heard Greg rummaging in the back of the van. Most likely getting her wheelchair out. Roxie placed her hands on her lap and calmly watched the shoreline of the beach. The sea water was flowing freely against the snowy sand. She narrowed her eyes as she noticed something. There were familiar looking balls scattered around the beach, transparent and pink. Almost like… bubbles. Roxie felt her stomach drop. Could it be? Bubbles. Bubbled… gems? Anxiety rose inside her as she quickly opened the car door and climbed down to the ground. Her legs hit the ground with a silent thud.

“Hey, hey, what are you doing?” Greg’s confused voice asked, but a scary hum of adrenaline inside her head drowned him out. She still remembered Citrine’s words clear as day. They will be coming. Roxie picked up the closest bubble on the ground. There was a red gem inside. A ruby? She felt her hands shake. Where were everyone? Roxie let out a shaky breath and set the bubble on the ground. She hurried to the stairs of the porch, but before she could climb up, a large stone clicked and rolled over as her foot touched it. Roxie looked down. A white, pearlescent, round stone lied amidst the snow, partly covered in it. Roxie didn’t see it there in her hurrying. She reached for it and wiped the snow off of it. 

It was Pearl. Roxie froze completely with the pearl in her hands.  
“No,” her voice wavered. Her hands shook as tear drops poured from her eyes.  
“What is it?” Greg huffed as he pushed the wheelchair towards Roxie in the snow. Everything else disappeared around her.  
“Pearl!” Roxie said in a high pitched sob. The surface of the gem was cold. She cradled it in her hands. Greg stopped. He stared at Roxie as she looked at him desperately in tears.  
“Make her come back!” She pleaded and stared at the gem.  
“Pearl!” A heart shattering scream escaped her as she sunk on her knees on the snow.  
“No, no, no, no…” Her voice was breaking. She pressed her forehead against the gem. It wasn’t as cold anymore. Her hands had warmed it up. Greg was looking at them in silence but then he shifted the wheelchair in the snow.  
“She’ll come back,” He assured her, “The gem is in one piece, she’ll be fine.”  
“What?” Roxie sounded lost as she looked up at the scruffy man.  
“Yeah,” He said and offered his hand to Roxie, “Come on. Let’s find the others.” 

Roxie wiped her tears and let Greg pull her up. They walked up the stairs together with Greg carrying the wheelchair with him. She cradled Pearl close to her chest. The door was hanging half open. There was no signs of battle inside the house. The gems must have ran out as the Homeworld gems had come, Roxie supposed.  
“Garnet? Amethyst? Steven!” Greg tried to call out, but there was no answer. The two of them exchanged worried looks. Roxie’s hand was in a cup against her chest, with Pearl’s gem inside it.  
“Where could they be?” Greg wondered and sat down in the couch in frustration. Roxie sat on the wheelchair Greg had pushed inside. She let out a sigh and watched the gem on the palms of her hands. They were still out there, she could feel it. They left Pearl behind. They wouldn’t have done that unless…  
“They must have been in a hurry.” Roxie narrowed her eyes and looked outside. She thought about the invisible floating ship she had fallen out of. It was right there, wasn’t it? Right in front of the house. She watched out the window in thought as Greg studied the sniper rifle that was laying on the sofa table.  
“This must be yours,” He said somberly. Roxie glanced at him with her eyebrow raised and then down at the gun.  
“Oh yeah.” She said. Gently, Roxie placed Pearl’s gem on the table and took the gun in her hands and checked inside the magazine for bullets. No one had unloaded it, there were still some inside. Good thing they were careful with it. Roxie would hate for another accident to happen on top of everything.  
Roxie looked at Greg. He was worried sick for his son. He was trying to not let it show, but she could feel the misery that was emanating from him. There wasn’t much Roxie could do to make him feel better, unless she could magically locate the missing gems.  
“Well, I have an idea,” Roxie said after a while checking her rifle.  
“Out with it!” Greg said and seemed to be a spark more hopeful than before.  
“I’m going to shoot the sky.” He stared at her, stumped.  
“That’s… Not much of a plan,” Greg attempted to steer her.  
“No, it’s not,” Roxie agreed and laid her rifle on her lap, “But remember how I told you I got hurt in a spaceship? It was hovering right next to this house. It had some sort of an invisibility mechanism. I’m going to shoot the sky and see if I’ll hit anything.”  
“Someone could get hurt,” Greg sounded worried. Roxie shook her head at him and started turning around with her wheelchair.  
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”  
“Well… If you say so.” 

Roxie pushed herself to the porch with her wheelchair. She looked down the beach, seeing all the bubbled gems still laying there. They should do something about those, she thought. Then, she looked up to the sky. She tried her best to remember the exact spot she had fallen out of. It wasn’t very easy. It’s not like she had had time to look behind her when that situation passed. Roxie locked her wheelchair in place and took her dear sniper rifle in her hands. She took a good grip and aimed into the sky. Taking her time to find the perfect spot, she readied herself. Breathe in, out, and fire. The shot echoed in the air. Roxie lowered her gun slightly in disappointment as she saw the bullet disappear into the distance without it hitting anything. She let out a small angry huff and rose to aim the rifle again to another spot. Shot. Ringing in her ears. She wished she had ear protection. The shot didn’t hit anything. Just silence as it flew away. She heard the creak of the door and turned her head to look at Greg. He seemed to stand there awkwardly.  
“I don’t mean to bother you, but isn’t that enough? You’re going to just attract unwanted attention. Besides… Aren’t those rounds expensive?” Greg tried to convince her to stop. What was he so afraid of? Angering the Homeworld gems? People coming here asking questions? Roxie sighed and looked at her gun.  
“They are,” She admitted, but straightened herself and said:  
“But don’t you want to find your son?”  
“I do,” Greg rubbed the back of his neck, “But I don’t think we can do anything about this even if we know the ship was there. They could be anywhere.”  
“You’re right,” Roxie nodded at him. She turned to face the beach and aimed up again.  
“But let me just do this. Just a few more. Go inside so your ears won’t get damaged.” 

Without a word, Greg went inside and closed the door behind him. Roxie took a deep breath and aimed up. Another spot. A loud sound ripped through the air as she pressed the trigger. The bullet hit an invisible wall. Roxie could see ripples of electronic waves travel in the air. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Quickly, she switched the gun’s safety on and got up from her wheelchair.  
“Mr. Universe! I hit it! Did you see that? It’s still there!” She called out to the inside. Greg came back to the door and looked towards the direction Roxie was pointing.  
“Let’s hope they are all right…” He mumbled in disbelief.  
  
  
“They teleported on to the ship, Citrine, just like we planned,” Chrys whispered to Citrine in a low voice. Chrys drew out her mace and flicked her white hair on the side of her head. She was readying herself for battle.  
“This is a suicide mission! They’ll crush your gem!” Citrine hissed back.  
“If that’s what it takes, then so be it. Remember to lock the doors,” Chrys winked at her as she got up and started walking towards the hatch where she could hear The crystal gems having arrived.  
“Chrys!” Citrine hissed but she didn’t look back. Airy noise sounded as the doors opened and Chrys disappeared behind them. Citrine stared at the doors for a moment and started breathing with ragged breaths. She paced back and forth. How much was she ready to sacrifice to bring The crystal gems back to Yellow Diamond? How many of her comrades had she already lost? They knew the risks, sure, but Citrine’s ambition was wavering. She’d thrown them all for the wolves while she sat there comfortably, waiting for the plan to unfold.

“Come and get me!” She heard Chrys taunt the gems in the distance. Citrine hesitantly moved to the control panel of all the ship’s doors. Her fingers travelled on the screen until she stopped to wait for the sign from Chrys.  
“Now!” And there it was, the call that would seal them all in. Citrine pressed a button and a clicking sound could be heard from the direction of Chrys and The crystal gems.  
“You may never take another Homeworld gem!” She heard Chrys exclaiming victoriously in her death trap.  
“For the Yellow Diamond!” She yelled. There was commotion, battle, and then, silence. Citrine’s chest ached. She looked around herself helplessly in the control room. She prayed that The crystal gems would have enough heart not to crush Chrys’ gem in their fury.  
“Peridot! Steven!” Garnet’s voice echoed from the sealed room, “They trapped us in! It’s up to you now.” 

Citrine gasped. It didn’t work. Chrys sacrificed herself in vain. What was she going to do? Fighting wasn’t her specialty. And Peridot? She thought they’d lost her. Yellow Diamonds said… But did she mean lost, but not broken? Lost to The crystal gems? Quickly, she turned around to face the hatch that hissed open. A familiar green and yellow gem stormed in. She was fuming. A little human boy was following her.  
“Citrine!” She spat the name out like it was something putrid.  
“You are alive!” Citrine managed to breathe out, she backed away, hitting her back on one of the control panels.  
“Surprised, huh?” Peridot said sourly, “I bet Yellow Clod told you I was gone.” Citrine shivered, she couldn’t keep her tears from springing into her eyes.  
“She did,” Citrine said with a broken voice.  
“Of course she did!” Peridot wasn’t even slightly surprised. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.  
“Now, let them go,” Peridot ordered, with her voice even and cold. Citrine breathed evenly and turned to the control panel. She stared down at the buttons and hovered her hand over it.  
“Peridot?” She asked.  
“What?”  
“How is Earth?” Peridot frowned and rubbed her temple.  
“I’m not here for small talk!” She bit back.  
“But, if I let them go, I can’t go back. You know that. Just like you can’t go back. But I still have the ship. We could go anywhere, together, with Chrys, you and me. Just like old times.” Citrine smiled through her teary eyes and looked over her shoulder to Peridot. Peridot softened. She looked at the ground for a moment until she shook her head.  
“Considering the possibilities, it’s too dangerous,” Peridot said, “I want to leave Earth, but Earth is the only place we’ll be safe in. Yellow Diamond can track your ship. I know this system inside out. It would be impossible to run from her.” 

Citrine let out a small breath and turned toward the control panel. Peridot was right. But she would always dream. Dreams, that was all she had ever had.  
“Very well,” Citrine said, defeated. She pressed the buttons on the screen and unlocked all the hatches.  
“I am surrendering to you, Crystal gems. I plead you, let Chrys and I go free, and we will do whatever we can to help your cause. We’re resourceful. And you have freed us,” Citrine spoke with a clear voice, and then she slumped down on the control panel chair and stared at the emptiness in front of her. She felt a warm hand against her arm. Turning her head, she noticed a fluffy haired little boy looking at her with a cautious smile.  
“You did the right thing,” Steven said. Citrine gave him a small nod and closed her eyes.

That evening, a lot of cleaning was done. The crystal gems returned to their home, much to Greg’s and Roxie’s relief. The two new gems stayed with them. They had a lot to learn of this world. Citrine carried Chrys’ gem with her, still distrustful of their new companions. She kept to herself, except when Peridot would visit her. Their shared work history would help them adjust to the life on Planet Earth. Greg cried in relief to have his son returned to him safely. He hugged him tight and told him what a brave boy he was. When everyone retreated to their rooms, Roxie settled down in the room she had found herself in in the start. Hopper was laying on the floor next to her bed. She placed Pearl’s gem next to her in the bed as she curled up underneath the blanket. Roxie kept staring at the gem. When would she come back? She missed her. It was an ache, a painful yearning in her stomach. Time went by. She tried to close her eyes, but she felt restless. After a while, Roxie turned on her back and gently took Pearl’s gem in her hands and placed it on her chest. It’s presence felt calming. It’s weight on her chest consoled her. It was still there. It wouldn’t disappear if she fell asleep. Roxie felt herself relax as she fell deeper into her subconscious. Her hand was lightly on top of Pearl’s gem, cradling it like a mother hen it’s egg. She drifted off soundly. Her breaths were slow and deep. 

 

Next time she woke up, a bright light emanated from the gem on her chest. It started projecting a form, slowly searching for it’s right shape. Pearl stepped out of the light and sat on the bed with her legs underneath her. Her hair was hanging down more than before when Roxie had seen her. A serene smile played on her lips. She watched the vulnerable and drowsy girl underneath the covers in silence. There was a flood of emotion in Pearl’s blue eyes. She laid down next to Roxie and wrapped her arm around her, pulling her close. Roxie felt Pearl’s gem touch her forehead and closed her eyes with a calm smile. The softness of the closeness lulled her back to soothing sleep, knowing that Pearl would be right there with her till the morning rays.


End file.
